After the operation the face swells, and for some time presents a downright hideous appearance, and instances have occurred in which it has been permanently distorted. Usually, however, the wounds heal after ten or twelve days, when the incised lines made by the "Uhi" present a bluish-black appearance.
With the women the operation is much more simple, being confined to one or two vertical or horizontal lines upon the lip and chin. This tattooing occasionally, however, takes place twice, in order to bring out a black colour, as the New Zealanders consider a black lip as the very ideal of beauty. It also figures as such in the songs chanted by the Tohunga on such occasions, of which the following stanzas may be presented as a specimen:--
Be ready, my daughter, to have thyself marked, To tattoo thy chin! That, when thou crossest the threshold of a strange house, They may not say, "Whence cometh this ugly woman?"
Be ready, my daughter, to have thyself marked, To tattoo thy chin! That thou mayst have a comely aspect, That when thou art bidden to a feast, They may not ask, "Whence cometh this _red-lipped_ woman?"
To make thyself beautiful Come and be tattooed! That when thou dost enter the circle of dancers, They may not ask, "Whence cometh this woman with the ugly lips?"
The Tohunga is usually well remunerated, and frequently in the course of his chant makes allusion to the amount of reward he expects, and indeed sometimes stimulates the generosity of his patient by singing amongst other ditties, something like
"The man who is paid well Tattoos beautifully! The man who receives nothing Does not tattoo well!"
The marks, when completely brought out, are so manifold and various that hardly any two New Zealanders are to be found who are tattooed entirely alike. Accordingly these markings serve neither to indicate variety of tribe, nor difference of rank. A slave, if he possess the means, may have his face tattooed with the same ornaments as his master. However it appears, as we were informed by Colonel Browne, that on the occasion of the chiefs ratifying the treaty with the English, they superscribed the various documents with the lines upon their faces, like so much heraldic blazonry, instead of writing their names.