Ngā tohu katoa he kōrero — all marks carry story
Each line traces genealogy — no mark exists without ancestral precedent, every spiral maps one lineage forward
No moko is ever duplicated across persons — each encodes one whakapapa alone, belonging to its bearer forever
Straight lines are foreign to tā moko — every stroke follows the body's own contours, never imposing geometry upon skin
The uhi chisel leaves channels, not shadows — texture as lasting as ink, a physical inscription that endures beyond a lifetime