Marquesan tattoo

Drawing of a tattooed man from the Marquesas Islands, 1846.

A Marquesan tattoo is a tattoo design originating from the Marquesas Islands of the South Pacific. Marquesean tattoos can be recognized by 'trademark symbols', such as geckos, centipedes, Ti'i's, the Marquesan Cross and other geometric designs. Marquesean designs distinguish themselves through the use of symbols and consistent artistic renderings of lines, arches and circles, which are uniquely attributed and linked through history to the South Pacific Islands.^[1]

Tradition

Boys received their first tattoos in their teens in a ritual setting, and by old age often had tattoos all over their bodies. Women were also tattooed, but not as extensively as men. The designs share many symbolic motifs, but were never copied entirely; every individual's tattoos were different and signified heritage, accomplishments, the specific Marquesan island the individual came from and their familial position.

Sailors on board the ships of Captain James Cook and other explorers from the West brought tattooing back with them, influenced by the designs they had seen on the inhabitants of these islands. These early tattoos, on the bodies of sailors, began the reintroduction of tattooing to the West.

Tattooing is still performed on the Marquesas Islands, though now performed with tattoo machine rather than traditional methods.

References

1. ^ "Tattoo History Museum". vanishingtattoo.com. http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoo_museum/marquesas_tattoos.html. Retrieved 2009-08-24. 

External links

• Marquesan Tattoo

This culture-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Polynesian tattooing Tattooing Culture stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Hazel Wolf Aleksandar Tijanić Look at other dictionaries: Tattoo — For other uses, see Tattoo (disambiguation). A tattooed woman in the United States, ca. 1907. A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification,… …   Wikipedia tattoo — tattoo1 /ta tooh /, n., pl. tattoos. 1. a signal on a drum, bugle, or trumpet at night, for soldiers or sailors to go to their quarters. 2. a knocking or strong pulsation: My heart beat a tattoo on my ribs. 3. Brit. an outdoor military pageant or …   Universalium tattoo — {{11}}tattoo (n.1) signal, 1680s, signal calling soldiers or sailors to quarters at night, earlier tap to (1644, in order of Col. Hutchinson to garrison of Nottingham), from Du. taptoe, from tap faucet of a cask (see TAP (Cf. tap) (n.1)) + toe… …   Etymology dictionary tattoo — English has two words tattoo. The older, ‘military display’ [17], was borrowed from a Dutch word, taptoe, that means literally ‘tap to’, that is, ‘shut the tap’ – a signal to shut off the taps of the beer barrels at closing time in the taverns.… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins tattoo — English has two words tattoo. The older, ‘military display’ [17], was borrowed from a Dutch word, taptoe, that means literally ‘tap to’, that is, ‘shut the tap’ – a signal to shut off the taps of the beer barrels at closing time in the taverns.… …   Word origins tattoo — I tat•too [[t]tæˈtu[/t]] n. pl. toos 1) mil a bugle call or other signal preceding taps and ordering soldiers to go to their quarters 2) a knocking or strong pulsation: My heart beat a tattoo on my ribs[/ex] 3) brit. an outdoor military pageant… …   From formal English to slang tattoo — tattoo1 noun (plural tattoos) 1》 an evening drum or bugle signal recalling soldiers to their quarters. 2》 Brit. a military display consisting of music, marching, and exercises. 3》 a rhythmic tapping or drumming. Origin C17 (orig. as tap too) from …   English new terms dictionary Manu Farrarons — is a Polynesian tattoo artist born in France in 1967 and grew up in Tahiti with the Polynesian culture. With his knowledge and mastery of Polynesian designs, he contributes actively to the fame of this ancestral art form. Manu Farrarons …   Wikipedia art and architecture, Oceanic — ▪ visual arts Introduction       the visual art (art) and architecture of native Oceania, including media such as sculpture, pottery, rock art, basketry, masks, painting, and personal decoration. In these cultures, art and architecture have often …   Universalium Culture of the Marquesas Islands — Marquesans performing a Haka dance The Marquesas Islands were colonized by sea faring Polynesians as early as 300 A.D., thought to originate from Samoa. The dense population was concentrated in the narrow valleys, and consisted of warring tribes …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”