Into Antiquity: A Memory of the Māori Moko

Short Film (Full Length) – 1972

This 1972 documentary explores the world of a dying generation of Māori female elders or kuia — “the last of the Māori women with tattooed chins”. The film pays tribute to the place of the kuia in Māori culture, and of wahine tā moko. Among those on screen are 105-year old Ngahuia Hona, who cooks in hot pools, rolls a cigarette, and eats with whānau, and “the oldest Māori” Ngakahikatea Whirihana, who remembers the Battle of Ōrākau during the land wars, and has outlived four husbands. Into Antiquity was an early documentary from veteran director Wayne Tourell.

These kuia, or old ladies, are the last of the old-time Māori. When they pass they take with them a whole world of experience, a part of the heart of Māoridom. Much of the Māori cultural heritage will die with them...
– Narrator Meremere Penfold