Cultural Tattoos Essay

The word Tattoo is believed to have originally come from the Samoan word “Tatau”. “The Samoan word for tattoo came from the Polynesian language, and the word tatau originates from the tapping sounds of the tool made during tattooing” (U.S National Park). The origins of the Samoan tatau have been passed down orally through

Tattoos have recently become increasingly popular in youth, due to the hidden meanings and symbolism that they are endowed with. Helen Day’s opinionative blog entry, The Power of Ink, asserts that the significance of tattoos have diminished due to the fashionable aesthetics that tattoos project. A highly casual, yet acknowledging tone characterises her blog entry, which is predominantly catered to young Australian readers who are interested in receiving a tattoo. Accompanying her blog entry is a number of comments which both support and criticise the new phenomenon of tattoos. Poignantly complementing her article is an image of Ta Mako tattoos, a Maori form of body art, and the front cover of the written work “No tattoos before you’re

Whether it be a dragon, tribal marking, Asian character, or a simple phrase, thousands of people get tattoos daily. Tattoos play a significant role in self-expression and identity in the modern age as well as since ancient times. Tattoos can be just for fun, symbolic of heritage and ancestry, representative of accomplishments or life events, or can be just for style. For some people, it’s an expression of identity and personal beliefs. This is exactly the case for Leslie Jamison. She tells the story of her tattoo in “Mark My Words. Maybe.” On Jamison’s forearm, the Latin phrase “homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto”. In English, this is translated to “I am human: nothing human is alien to me” (Jamison 458). Throughout her story, she

My senior project was over the History of Tattooing, I chose this as my topic because Tattoos really interest me with all the different styles and meanings behind them. Some things I already knew about Tattooing is a lot of tribes used tattoos to symbolize things, but I didn’t know what.

Similar to that idea, not all Polynesian tattoos have the same flow and shape as others. Along with that, there are also different meanings for different designs. In the Maori culture, tattoos are not always based on the life a person is living but also on milestones that they’ve reached. “For the Maori these tattoos symbolize spiritual rituals related to specific events in a person's life. The Maori men were only allowed to receive their first tattoo upon reaching adolescence.” (Laura du Toit). There was also a process that went along with receiving a Maori tattoo that one would have to partake in order to receive a tribal tattoo. “Before receiving a Maori tattoo the person would have to fast. The entire lwi would be present at the ceremony itself and this would be celebrated with music and dancing.” (Laura du Toit). In Samoan cultures, tattoos were also very sacred due to the meaning it held. “It means that a soga’imiti (traditional Samoan male tattoo) has a higher social status in his community than others, and is given more opportunities to learn correct protocol, history, oratory skills and other intricacies of the Fa’asamoa.”

Tattooing is a body modification practice used for centuries across the globe. Because of the multiple origins of tattoos, there are several techniques and countless styles. Every tattoo is unique in meaning to the person that receives it, though often they can fit into generalized categories. Tattoos have fallen in and out of popularity over the course of history, though they have never and most likely will never disappear.

Tattoos have been around throughout our history, from Egyptian times to the present day. Many people may say they know the history of tattoos, and where they originate from, but do they really? Does one know that there were reasons that some people had tattoos? There may be people who know the actual history of tattoos and body art and why one would decide to get one; however there are people who do not. To be able to understand the idea of tattoos, one should educate themselves to the history of tattoos. Although tattoos have been considered taboo and a stereotype, history reveals that this particular form of body art has been used for self expression, status and

When the Egyptians extended their empire, tattooing extended as well to civilizations such as Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia. Later on in 2000BC this form of body art also reached china. With almost every culture influencing the practice of tattoo’s, the concept ranged from medical purposes, branding slaves to even determining the coming out of women. Examples include:

General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: Inform the class about the Polynesian Culture in Hawaii. I. Introduction A. An obscure but far from obsolete culture, the Polynesians come from a mysterious origin. In fact, little is known about how they dispersed, except that their culture traveled far and wide, adapting as it touched a series of islands ranging from Hawaii, and traveling to Easter Island. B. Polynesian culture still thrives, with as far reaching affects as touching our diet and playing an integral role with basic musical elements.

It seems like everyone has one these days. What used to be the property of sailors, outlaws, and biker gangs is now a popular body decoration for many people. And it’s not just anchors, skulls, and battleships anymore, from school emblems to Celtic designs to personalized symbols; people have found many ways to express themselves with them. Maybe you’ve thought about getting one. Well before you head down to the nearest tattoo shop and roll up your sleeve, there are a few things you need to know.

The tattoo is a very old form of body modification, but in spite of that there is still a certain rejection towards those who carry them in a visible area of the body, for some it disfigures what has been created in the image and likeness of God while for others associates this with convicts or gang members mainly because they were one of the first groups to use tattoos to differentiate themselves from the rest of society. But also it is true that there is a very limited understanding about this corporal modification that could be one of the reasons why it can not be appreciated as for how it should be. However, modern society reflects the current popularity of tattooing because it has acquired an entirely artistic meaning to a social expression and a way of identity.

The Samoans are an ethnic group that reside in Oceania, on the islands of Samoa, in an area of Polynesia. Samoa has been occupied by these indigenous people for about 3000 years, when they came from the west, occupying the islands of Fiji and Tonga around the same time (Barnes and Hunt 2005, 243). They carry many traditions with their culture, however, I will be discussing their tradition of tattooing. Tattooing is the process of inserting ink pigment into someone’s skin to create a permanent design on them. For Samoans, tattoos are much more significant than just a pretty piece of artwork, they are, according to Ryman (2004), a right of passage. I will be reviewing the importance of cultural tattoos, the process of being tattooed, and the varying origin stories of how tattooing first came to Samoa. Samoan tattooing matters because it is a cultural tradition that has been practiced in Samoa for over 3000 years (Ellis 2006, 698).

What used to be the property of sailors, outlaw and rock star is now become a popular body decoration for many people. It’s not just anchors, skulls, and spider web anymore, people have found plenty ways to express themselves with their tattoo. You might be thinking to get your first one, but fear of the unknown can sometimes hold you back from it. The best thing you can do is educate yourself about the process how the human skin is transformed into a beautiful work of art.

The tattooing of criminals sustained through the Middle Ages and spread across Europe, making the social practice of marking bodies go hand-in-hand with delinquency, deviance and social outcasts. The practice of marking bodies was later used during the colonization projects in Africa and Asia, and like the branding of criminals, it was used as a means to exert ownership and power over the locals (Fisher, 2002). With such a dark history, how then did the act of tattooing become intended and commoditized?

There is a long list of cultures that utilised tattoos as a form of decoration and communication (Swami, 2011). That said, within some western societies, that historical connection to the tattoo is not that strong. However the art of tattooing has seen a steady growth of its popularity and acceptance, and since the early 1990s, that growth has accelerated dramatically (Caplan, 2000; Cash, 2011; DeMello, 2000; Swami, 2011). The current estimated incidence of tattooing amongst the populations of North America and Europe is approximately 25 percent (Laumann & Derick, 2006; Swami, 2011), with one researcher suggesting those rates could continue to increase to as much as 40 percent of the population (Anderson, 2006).