Each is hand-carved, without metal. You might as well use a machine. Tattooists occupied a singular role in Hawaiian society, says Nunes. The tools allowed us to do that. Understandably, he treats his implements with reverence.
Long before that day arrives, the tattoo recipient has been busy preparing. Nunes might additionally require a person to clear away grievances with family and friends—or learn to speak Hawaiian.
Sound demanding? It is. The process of preparing for an uhi , enduring the pain of its application, and wearing the mark is meant to create an indelible bond between the bearer, his or her community, nature, and the divine. The tattooist, not the recipient, decides when someone is ripe for such spiritual transformation and what the accompanying blueprint will be.
Now he knows why. Nakanelua, an airport fire captain and taro farmer, waited nearly twenty years for his facial tattoo, or maka. Through it, more and more Hawaiians are recapturing the living pulse of their proud heritage and discovering who they truly are.
Now the father of six, with a seventh on the way, Harp exudes a sincerity and gentleness born out of a firm sense of identity. The practice of kakau opened a living channel that connects him with his ancestors, establishing permanence and continuity in his life.
We go out of our way to honor them. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign in. Log into your account. Forgot your password? Create an account. Privacy Policy. Traditional positioning should not keep you from placing your tattoos on any part of the body you may feel appropriate for you: we believe a design should be meaningful to his owner before anyone else.
Human figures, otherwise known as enata in Marquesan language, represent men, women and sometimes gods. They can be placed within a tattoo to represent people and their relations. If they are placed upside down then they can be used to represent defeated enemies. This is one example of the Enata in its singular form. Polynesian languages and a row of enata in a semi-circular form often represent the sky as well as the ancestors guarding their descendants.
Shark teeth or niho mano deserve a space of their own. Sharks are one of the favourite forms that aumakua choose to appear to man. They represent protection, guidance and strength as well as fierocity however, they are also symbols of adaptability in many cultures. This is an example of simplified shark teeth. Below are stylisations of shark teeth, in their more complex form as they may be seen in a tattoo.
Another classic symbol that is used to represent the warrior nature is the spear. Spear-heads are very symbolic in relation to sharp items too and they can be used to represent the sting of some animals.
The ocean is a second home to Polynesian people and the place of rest when they leave for their last voyage. Coincidentally, turtles are said to join the departed guiding them to their destinations. So sometimes, the ocean can be used to represent death and the beyond.
Since the ocean is the primary source of food, it is no wonder it impacts so much tradition and myth. All the creatures living in the ocean are associated with several meanings, usually mutated from their characteristic traits and habits.
The ocean and the sea can be represented by waves. Here is the simplified version. The stylisations of the ocean can often represent ideas such as life, change and continuity through change. Waves can also be used to represent the world beyond or the place where the departed go and rest on their last voyage. One meaning of the word tiki is figure, so tiki is the name given to human-like figures that usually represent semi-gods as opposed to atua, who usually appear to men under the shape of animals such as lizards.
The tiki can also represent deified ancestors, priests and chiefs who became semi-gods after their passing. They symbolise protection, fertility and they serve as guardians. Tiki figures can be portrayed in a front view sometimes with their tongue stretched out as a symbol of defiance to enemies. Here is a close up of one of the most important elements of the tiki, the eyes.
The turtle or honu is another important creature throughout all Polynesian cultures and has been associated with several meanings. The first being the fact that turtles symbolise health, fertility, longevity in life, foundation, peace and rest. The word hono, meaning turtle in Marquesan language, has other meanings which encompass things such as joining and stitching together families and representing the idea of unity.
Contrary to what is sometimes believed, turtles drawn upwards do not imply that they are taking the soul of a dead person into the other world. To represent this, a human figured must be placed on or near the shell of the turtle.
Other patterns can be derived by the inlay of the shell, this is one example of a shell-stylisation…. Gods atua and minor spirits often appeared to men in the form of lizards and this may explain why the stylised element used to represent the lizard is very similar to the stylised symbol used to represent man.
Lizards are very powerful creatures who bring good luck, communicate between the humans and the gods and who can access the invisible world. On the other hand, they can also bring death and bad omens to people who are disrespectful.
This is a pattern or stylisation of the lizard symbol, and as mentioned above it does look rather similar to the human-form stylisation enata.
Stingray tattoos come in several variations and styles, the image can hold symbolic meanings. The stingray has the ability to hide in the underwater sands, mainly from sharks and is able to cover up with sand and lay still.
Other themes that go hand in hand with the sting-ray image are adaptation, gracefulness, peacefulness, danger, agility, speed and stealth. Tautau was the sound made by tattooing — tat tat. Traditional tattoo involves the creation of traditional tattooing tools called tatatau. The tools are made specifically for you, used only on you.
It takes two artists to do a traditional tattoo — one to stretch the skin and the other to do the tat-tau-ing. Traditional tattooing was banned in by the Tahiti-based French Ministry of Health due to the difficulty in sterilizing the wooden and bone equipment but was allowed again in There are only a handful of artists left in Tahiti who still practice this art form. I happen to be one of them. For each symbol there is a sacred ceremony. There are different symbols related to those elements.
There were symbols specific to certain families and symbols unique to various roles.
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