Rongomau

Design Story

The manta of this Maori kirituhi tattoo represents freedom and it protects the two koru (new life) paired with frangipani flowers (children, femininity) representing the daughters of Dave, for whom this tattoo was designed.

The spearheads within the manta symbolize the warrior, strength and courage, and so does the hammerhead shark motif.
The teeth of taniwha and the dog-tooth motif represent protection.

On the right wing of the manta, the double spiral symbolizes the couple, the meeting that brought a new life and a new peace (te ha, the breath of life), also shown on the left wing of the manta by the koru coupled with the ritorito motif (family union).

The ahuahu o Mataora represents the steps along a difficult path, the challenges (greater in the past, smaller now within the manta) faced by Dave to reach his goals.

The last part represents his past as a soldier, with the silver tree fern representing community, fish scales for protection (with 8 elements in it to symbolize 8 deployments), and measure marks as symbols of goals reached.

The colored image below shows the main elements within the tattoo: