NANAIA Mahuta, a Maori who wears a traditional tattoo on her chin, has been appointed New Zealand’s first indigenous female foreign minister in a cabinet re-shuffle.
The appointment was made by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. She described her new cabinet – which also includes the country’s first openly gay minister as ‘incredibly diverse’.
Female facial tattoos, or moko kauae, have been a part of Maori culture for centuries.
They are carved into the skin using chisels and are seen as particularly sacred, denoting a person’s links with their family and cultural identity.
