For Samoan designs, the patterns typically represent different animals or earth-related structures, which can be assigned different meaning, but ultimately, it's up to the one getting the tattoo ...

Traditionally, Samoan tattoos marked adulthood, which came with special privileges. Christian missionaries, when they came to the archipelago, ... Tatau follows the pattern.

As American anthropologist and tattoo expert Lars Krutak wrote in his excellent introduction to Polynesian tattoos, the complex system of symbols and patterns found across the archipelagos are ...

“Tatau: Marks of Polynesia,” at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles July 30-Jan. 8, looks at the Samoan practice of tattoo and how the patterns and motifs of these works of ...

The legacy of Polynesian tatau, the onomatopoeic name for the practice of tattoo, began 3,000 years ago—the designs as diverse as the people who wear them.The Polynesian Triangle includes more ...

DTLA - Tattoos may be omnipresent today, but the taboo around them hasn’t quite faded away. They were long considered uncouth in the western world and some Asian cultures still ...

Tattoos in places like Samoa, Tonga, and Hawai‘i can signify a sacred oath to protect and honor one’s community. HISTORY & CULTURE; ... (Samoan for tattoo) designs just right.

Showcasing traditional tatau designs, or tattoo designs, from masters to young up-and-coming artists and practitioners, Bishop Museum is unveiling a brand new exhibit Saturday, Nov. 13, called &#82… ...

Tribal Polynesian designs should come with a personal connection Tattoo artist and model Sini Ariell of Anarchy Ink Australia hopes to see fewer tribal, Polynesian-inspired tattoos this year.

Army Capt. Isis Sake is the first soldier to receive a religious accommodation for traditional Samoan hand tattoos. (Jon Simkins/Staff) Small arrows, birds and stars adorn the tops of the soldier ...