New Zealand reporter makes history in broadcasting
A New Zealand reporter has made history by becoming the first person to present a prime-time news programme with a traditional Māori chin tattoo!
Oriini Kaipara, 37, is the first person in New Zealand’s history to anchor the news wearing her Moko Kauae, a traditional lower chin tattoo worn by Māori women.
Oriini Kaipara filled in as the anchor of Newshub Live’s 6 p.m. broadcast in New Zealand on Dec 27.
For those who don’t know, Māori tattooing or Tā moko is used to represent the wearer’s family heritage and social status by the Maori people — Indigenous to New Zealand before it was colonized.
It is regarded as a rite of passage for Māori women, marking the transition between girl and adulthood, and symbolises the personal process.
“I’m very much aware that I’m the first [with moko kauae] to anchor a six o’clock primetime news bulletin,” Oriini Kaipara said.
“That is always at the back of my mind, that every step I make is like breaking through a glass ceiling… It’s breaking new ground for us as Māori, but also for people of colour. Whether you’ve got a Moko Kauae or not.”
“For me, being Māori is a way of life. I was born and bred in a Māori world where Reo (language) and Tikanga (traditions) were embedded in us,” she added.
