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Polynesian tattooing existed before the arrival of Europeans in the South Pacific and was the most artistic tattooing in the ancient world. It had evolved over thousands of years throughout the islands of the Pacific and, in its most highly developed forms, was characterized by elaborate geometrical designs which were often added to, renewed, and embellished throughout the life of the individual until they covered the entire body. In beauty and complexity ancient Polynesian tattooing rivals the best work of modern masters of the art. Speaking about tattoos in different tribes I can say that they were pretty much the same. At one time, nearly all Tongan males would have worn tattoos very similar to the pea, or traditional tattoo worn by Samoan men. The mans tattoo in Tonga was done in the same manner as the Samoan tattoo.
The tool itself was a sharpened comb, made of either bone or shell. This was hated onto a wooden handle. A second wooden tool served as a mallet, tapping the primary tool repeatedly, driving the comb into the skin. The process of tattooing in ancient Tonga was a long and painful one, particularly considering the amount of heavy black coverage in the tattoo. It was definitely a mark of manhood. There were some differences in the process of tattoo as well.
In the Samoan Islands, for example, tattooing could take up to six months to complete and there was a special shed in which the process took place. Here, not having some tattoos on your left side was somewhat of a social faux pax. Polynesians developed the painful but prestigious art of tattoo more fully than other Oceanic peoples. Nobles and warriors, especially, were concerned with increasing their status, mana, and personal beauty by accumulating various tattoo patterns over the years. An early nineteenth-century engraving (De La Croix, Transfer, Kirkpatrick, p. 543) shows Marquesan tattoo patterns, with divided and subdivided geometric motifs covering most of the body.
Such a multiplication of small, repetitive abstract forms is one major tendency in much Polynesian art. So we can assume that that was the primary form of tattoo for nobles and worrier's and well as other aborigines. The differences in the design and quantity of tattoo were also different for genders. Women were tattooed as well in ancient Tonga and other islands in Polynesia, however the designs were limited to the arms and the inside of the hands and fingers. There were some forms of tattooing that women did for sexual purposes but it was uncommon for men.
In one specific tribe known as the Haida both women and men were tattooed, but as common in many cases, the markings were different for each. The women more commonly had tattoos on their hands and forearms. Most had tattoos also on their breast and legs below the knee. These markings are very culturally significant. They allow the tribe identification on the basis of the design which tells the family name of the wearer. Besides some women tattooed their lips and chins as a means to prove their ability to bear the pain of childbirth.
This process often happened as part of the rite of passage from childhood into puberty. Today, few Tongans or Haidas even realize that their ancestors bore tattoos -- not only has the art been lost over the past two centuries, but even the knowledge of it is gone as well. Body art practices as well as many other traditional arts changed rapidly, reflecting larger shifts in society. Many traditional acts are not now being practiced, for they no longer have critical riles in cultural continuity and survival. Tattooing virtually disappeared in Polynesia, partly due to Western influence, but it is now being revived as an assertion of ethnic identity. Western body art, including everything from piercing to shoe styles, also indicates a person's social identity.
Bibliography Brain, Robert. (1979. ) The Decorated Body. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. De Mello, Margo. (2000. ) Bodies of Inscription: A cultural history of the modern tattoo community. Durham: Duke University Press.
Horse, De La Croix, Richard, G. Taney, Diane, Kirkpatrick. (1987) Art Throughout The Ages. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company Gilbert, Steve. (2000. ) Tattoo History. New York: Juno Books.
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Research essay sample on De La Croix Polynesian Tattooing Tattoo
