A Maori legend tells us about Niwareka, daughter of a tohunga ta moko (tatooist) as well as the princess of the underworld. Niwareka wanted to explore the world above and while she was there she met Mataoroa. Niwareka fell in love with Mataoroa and married him. As knowledge of ta moko did not exist in the world above, Mataoroa simply wore designs painted on his body, rather than being chiselled as a real ta moko supposed to be. Ta moko is different from tattoo in that the skin is carved by uhi (chisels) instead of being punctured with needles. This leaves the skin with textured grooves, rather than the smooth surface of a normal tattoo.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2019/06/07/you-think-getting-a-tattoo-is-painful-the-myth-rituals-and-symbolism-of-maoris-ta-moko/