The word "tattoo" comes from Polynesia. In 1769, during James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific, the expedition's accounts from Tahiti recorded the local term tatau, which entered English as tattow and later tattoo, spreading into European languages. But for the peoples who practised it the tatau was not just any ornament: it was a sign of identity, rank and genealogy, inscribed on the skin through a rite that involved the sacred.
An ancient and widespread practice
Tattooing was present across almost all of Polynesia, from Hawaii to New Zealand, from Tonga and Samoa to the Marquesas and Tahiti. Each archipelago had its own styles, motifs, techniques and rules. The most common tools were fine combs made of bone or teeth, fixed to a handle and struck with a small stick to drive into the skin a pigment obtained from the soot of burned nuts.
The work required a great deal of time, great skill and considerable endurance from the person being tattooed. Pain was part of the meaning: bearing it was a test of courage and maturity.
Samoa: the pe'a and the malu
In Samoa the tradition of tattooing has never been interrupted, despite missionary pressure, and today it is one of the most vital in the Pacific.
- The pe'a is the traditional male tattoo: it covers the body from the waist to the knees, with motifs so dense that from a distance it looks like a dark garment. The name also refers to the flying fox, a fruit bat, whose shape some recognise in the design.
- The malu is the female tattoo, lighter, adorning mainly the thighs.
The tattooist, the tufuga ta tatau, is a respected master, often belonging to families that hold this art. The process may take many days and is accompanied by rules and by the presence of family members. Anyone who abandons it halfway, out of fear or pain, bears a mark of shame: the unfinished tattoo.
A Samoan legend tells that the art of tattooing was brought from Fiji by two twin sisters, Taema and Tilafaiga, who sang a song about tattooing as they swam toward Samoa.
New Zealand: tā moko
Among the Māori, tattooing had a particular name and technique: tā moko. Besides comb tools, a small chisel, the uhi, was used, cutting grooves into the skin and leaving a visible relief. The best-known moko is that of the face:
| Type | Who wears it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| male facial moko | men of rank | genealogy, position, deeds |
| moko kauae | women | design on the chin and lips, linked to descent |
| body moko | men and women | thighs, buttocks, other parts |
The facial moko was almost an identity card: those who could read it recognised the person's origin, line of descent and status. Every face was unique.
The tapu of tattooing
In Polynesian cultures the head was considered the most sacred part of the body, charged with tapu. Tattooing the face, drawing blood from the head, therefore meant entering a condition of intense sacredness.
During the tattooing period the person was subject to strict restrictions. Among the Māori, for example, they could not touch food with their hands: they were fed through a carved wooden funnel, the kōrere, so that the food did not come into contact with the wounded and sacred face. The tattooist, too, was a figure charged with tapu.
Prohibition, oblivion and revival
With the arrival of Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century, tattooing was discouraged or banned on many islands. In Tahiti, Hawaii and the Marquesas the practice weakened greatly, in some cases almost to the point of disappearing. Male facial tā moko became rare over the century, while the female moko kauae persisted longer.
Since the late twentieth century there has been a strong revival. Polynesian artists have studied ancient sources, museum objects and travellers' drawings to recover motifs and meanings. In New Zealand tā moko has become visible again in public life, as an affirmation of identity and continuity with the ancestors.
A tattoo is not just a design
The worldwide spread of Polynesian "tribal" motifs has also raised a delicate question: the use of sacred and genealogical symbols as mere decoration. Many Polynesian artists ask that anyone who wants a tattoo inspired by these traditions understand its meaning and not appropriate signs that belong to specific families and communities.
In short
- The word "tattoo" derives from the Polynesian tatau, recorded in Tahiti in 1769.
- In Samoa the male pe'a and female malu form an unbroken tradition.
- Māori tā moko, carved with the uhi chisel, expresses genealogy and status.
- Facial tattooing was charged with tapu and accompanied by strict ritual rules.
- Today Polynesian tattooing is experiencing a revival that asks for respect for its meanings.
