so, through the celebration of ta moko, people demonstrate to the world first of all their proud in beingg their own story in this design, and also their own genealogy as well. research indicates now that one in five adults in new zealand has at least one tattoo, with more than 35% of under 30s with tattoos. why do you think there has been a shift in attitude towards maori tattoos? we have a long history of assimilation, which was an active policy on the part of the crown colonising new zealand to suppress our culture and cultural norms, and celebration of cultural identity. moving forward from the '70s in new zealand we have had a cultural revitalisation and renaissance, focused broadly across the culture on language but also aspects like ta moko. what you are seeing is people in their 30s and under who were born in that period embracing ta moko without the stigma that previous generations held as a result of a general societal repugnance towards things maori, and the strong assimilation policies led by the crown. a ground—breaking study in bangladesh found that tracking the movement of