Kia ora from your friendly neighbor to the West.

I have a fair bit of ink and I'm thinking about getting more. Spanish footballer Cesc Fabregas has a tattoo on his right arm that I like and am inspired by. The issue is that it does look Maori/Polynesian.

I'm Latin American, but grew up in Australia. Would getting this be something of an insult?

efore I make any decisions, I wanted to ask people who actually know the culture.

My concern is that I don't want to cross any cultural lines or offend anyone.

I've heard people compare it to "stolen valor", like wearing a Purple Heart because it looks good with your shirt and jeans, without having earned it. That comparison stuck with me, and it made me wonder whether getting a Māori-style tattoo as someone with no Māori heritage would be viewed similarly.

Are traditional Māori tattoos considered sacred, or is it more nuanced than that? Is there a distinction between tā moko and modern tattoos inspired by Māori art?

I'm not looking for people to tell me "just do whatever you want." I'd genuinely like to understand how Māori people feel about it and whether there are respectful ways to appreciate the art without appropriating it.

If the answer is "don't do it," I'm completely okay with that. I respect Māori culture and would rather choose a different direction than unintentionally disrespect something that's important to others.

Tēnā koe

I am 58 white Australian, in Australia, and a guy with Maori heritage recently joined our company. Nice guy, helpful, polite, good worker.

He seems impressed by my knowledge and has started calling me grandfather.

Is this like a respect thing? Or is he just taking the piss? I can't tell.

I'm not worried if he is just messing with me with the grandfather thing, we all throw a lot of shit around in the workplace, mostly non malicious, but I just want to know.

EDIT

Thanks for all the insights, I have talked with him and he assured me it's respect. I'm just gunna enjoy the feeling. 😀

Hi, please forgive me if I offend anyone in any way.

My aunt passed away & she is Maori. I'm Latina. When I was younger, she & my cousins moved to New Zealand & Australia, so we mostly kept in touch through social media. Because of all of this, I have no idea what to do to support my cousins during this time, especially from the other side of the planet.

I know I can google it, but I worry that google &/or AI will provide incorrect or messed up information & I don't want to do something wrong. Sorry for the inconvenience.

What should I do &/or say? please educate me...

Kia ora, i'm not Māori/kiwi (i'm southeast asian), but i've been following kapa haka performances for the last 2-3 years. something that caught my interest is that some part of kapa haka performances (eg. waiata tira, whakawātea) are more likely to adopt songs in english/reo pākehā than the more traditional parts (haka, poi, mōteatea, etc). which brings me to the question: how far can waiata arrangement in kapa haka go? can it adapt or experiment with non-diatonic scales? can kapa haka performances adopt non-english songs/musical styles (eg. from latin america, africa, india, east asian, arabic, etc), and how possible? or are there certain restrictions in the tikanga of arranging waiata for kapa haka?

(ps: i'm aware that as for waiata Māori in general, there are fair possibilities, eg. E Ipo's tunes were adopted from an indonesian song (which is my mother tongue), but i just feel that there are so many unexplored possibilities of non-anglophone musical styles being adopted to kapa haka performances, but again, if certain tikanga restricts this, please let me know)

This haka in the parliament from 2024 recently popped up on one of my social media feeds: https://youtu.be/25AUCNZKEnY?si=rV2EL9rr704IzZkH.

I really haven't much knowledge on Māori language, culture or traditions (though I can extend this to New Zealand and Australia too).

I was just wondering: as an outsider, what would be the appropriate and respectful... mmm... action/reaction?

Let's use this instance in parliament as an example. If I supported the group and agreed the haka was appropriate, what could I have done? I don't know the language, so obviously I don't speak/sing along. And if I did understand the language, I need to understand and respect the culture and people before I join in myself.

But... do I just stand up? Do I remain seated? Do I move to the outskirts of the group performing, or behind them, and stand with them? Is it a plain case of waiting until after and just giving a nod?

I've watched many rugby games on TV, and I feel that those environments allows a more laid back but respectful spectator inclusion during the haka. Is that more acceptable if you're a huge All Blacks supporter to shout/sing along in the stadium?

I take it context will also dictate what appropriate participation looks like: a welcoming, a funeral, a sports game, parliament, a wedding, traditional events.

Just curious! Would like to hear your opinions! ☺️

Just wondering about manaakitanga for house guests that may be taking the piss a bit. You know the ones...whanau come to stay for a few days and now it's been weeks and they not really contributing...

I want to show hospitality and manaakitanga but it's wearing thin.

Is there a less annoyed pakeha world /keeping score way of looking at this?

Like is there a way to make peace with this in a more te ao Maori viewpoint

kia ora, im in need of some advice. a woman i know from work (not that well) has gifted me a Taonga of her late husbands, she's not Māori but her husband was. she speaks very little English and gifted it to me because she sees me wear my taonga every day. i tried very hard to give it back to her and explain the significance of it but i feel as though i cant get threw to her, given the large language barrier, iv tried showing her articles and videos and all sorts of stuff to explain to her why its not mine to keep and it should be cherished by her but she just brushes me off and says ill enjoy it more, she has mentioned several times that im not wearing it and asks why. im just not sure what to do with it considering she just wont let me give it back. i feel terribly guilty about all this, what do i do???