An Initiation Ritual

Te Ao Hou, June 1965, Page 45

An Initiation Ritual In the underworld Mataora is tattooed by Uetonga, father of Niwareka. After this Mataora and Niwareka return to the surface, and Mataora teaches the art of tattooing; this is said to be the origin of tattooing. All young men and women other than slaves were tattooed when they reached puberty, and this ceremony must be regarded as an initiation ritual, or ‘rite de passage’. If the interpretation put forward in this article is correct, we have in the story of Mataora and Niwareka a clear association of a vegetation myth of death and resurrection, with an initiation ritual. Similar associations are known to have existed elsewhere, for example in the ancient world around the Mediterranean; the most famous case is that of the Eleusinian Mysteries of the Greek barley goddess Demeter. However, in most cases detailed information on the subject is not available. But the imagery of death and re-birth is known to be one of the main features of the ritual ceremonies which in the ancient world and in primitive societies, marked the transition from childhood to adult life. (Among other important features of initiation rituals were a painful ordeal, and a permanent visible sign of the initiate's new status. With the Maori tattooing served both these purposes).