A New Zealand news presenter powerfully responded to a viewer who criticized her traditional Māori facial tattoo.
Oriini Kaipara made history in 2021 as the first person with a moko kauae to anchor a primetime news broadcast on national television.
A moko kauae is a sacred Māori facial tattoo traditionally worn by women on the chin, and sometimes extending to the lips.
While Kaipara was widely praised for proudly representing Māori culture during her debut, one viewer persistently expressed disapproval of her tattoo.
After enduring repeated complaints, the journalist finally addressed the criticism head-on with a bold and unapologetic message on social media.
After learning that Kaipara had received complaints about her traditional face tattoo, many people took to social media and leaped to her defense.
“A rich cultural heritage is definitely something to honor, respect, and embrace,” one person penned.
Somebody else said: “It’s beautiful and about time.”
A third social media user commented: “I don’t understand why anyone would have a problem with this.”
“I respect her for getting a tattoo that shows her pride in her heritage,” another added.
Wanting a reminder of Māori culture, Kaipara decided to get the facial tattoo in 2019.
She told CNN: “When I doubt myself, and I see my reflection in the mirror, I’m not just looking at myself.
“I’m looking at my grandmother and my mother, and my daughters, and hers to come after me, as well as all the other women, Māori girls out there and it empowers me.”
Along with her moko kauae, Kaipara often uses Māori phrases during her broadcasts such as ‘E haere ake nei’ (still to come), ‘Ū tonu mai” (stay with us), and ‘Taihoa e haere’ (don’t go just yet).
Ultimately, the news presenter’s goal is to encourage people to speak the Māori language which was ‘beaten out of my grandmother’s generation,’ and reclaim it for the Māori people.
Kaipara added: “We still haven’t addressed a lot of intergenerational traumas and colonization and for Māori, that’s very, very pertinent and poignant as well.
“Not much in terms of race relations here has changed in a very long time.”
At one point, the moko kauae tattoo tradition was almost lost due to colonization, however, there has been a resurgence.
The Guardian reports that it’s become a way for people ‘to reclaim and deeply connect to Māori culture.’
In an interview with The New Zealand Herald, Kaipara shared that many viewers send her ‘lovely and thoughtful’ messages, emails, and letters.
However, one viewer was ‘relentless’ with their complaints.
The complainant, known only as David, wrote to the entire Newshub newsroom, mislabeling Kaipara’s tattoo as a ‘moku’ and describing it as ‘offensive’ and ‘a bad look.’
He also protested against Kaipara’s use of the Māori language, although it features in most New Zealand TV broadcasts.
David wrote: “We continue to object strongly to you using a Māori TV presenter with a moku, which is offensive and aggressive looking. A bad look.
“She also bursts into the Māori language which we do not understand. Stop it now.”
Kia ora David,
Thank you for your many complaints regarding me and my moko. I find them difficult to take seriously, particularly as there has been no breach of broadcast standards.
If I may, I’d like to correct a small but important detail — it is moko, not “moku.” A helpful pronunciation guide is “Maw-Caw,” which may assist you in articulating the word correctly in future.
It seems your objections are rooted in a personal preference for how someone should appear on screen — your preference, not a standard.
Moko, and those who wear them, are neither threatening nor deserving of discrimination, harassment, or prejudice. They are sacred, ancestral markings unique to the Indigenous people of Aotearoa, including myself. We carry them with pride and purpose, and we deserve the same respect afforded to others.
I ask that you refrain from submitting further complaints, and perhaps reserve your cultural ignorance and bias for another era — preferably somewhere in the 1800s.
Ngā mihi,
The lady with the moko kauae who speaks Māori — but mostly English — on TV.
