This book chronicles vintage motifs in thematic chapters interspersed with profiles of influential tattoo artists and their distinctive designs. Nunes will be one of many at the expo, and visitors can watch him perform kakau. The tattoo history source book by steve gilbert, hardcover. A decade after visiting new zealand, captain james cook sailed to the hawaiian islands, anchoring off the coast of the island of kauai in january 1778. Kakau hawaiian tattoo collection stock vector royalty. Im not one to really like the public spotlight, nunes says. The traditional technique of tattooing kakau, was in its full flow at the third annual salt lake city international tattoo convention at the salt palace convention center this weekend.
He even says he did a leg tattoo from hip to ankle in 45 minutes. Jeff widener the honolulu advertiser pali ke kua, mahina ke alo appearances, fashion and hairstyles of hawaiians of old. Pitt rivers museum body arts polynesian tattooing tools. One thing that is certain is that the term polynesian or polynesia incorporates many tribes including marquesans, samoans, niueans, tongans, cook islanders, hawaiians, tahitians and maori. Hawaiian kakau tattoo set royalty free vector image. The ancient, nearly lost art of hawaiian tattoo, or uhi, uses tools that were developed in polynesia 2,000 years ago.
Tattoo life chosen by tattoo artists for tattoo lovers. When i was working on the book, lets be realistic, with mike devries, i studied the topic of tattoo history in depth. Her approach to the art is unique in that she has tattooed over 8000 members of the polynesian community, yet has an extensive academic background. Through the eyes of kalinga tradition 20 a philippine filmmaker journeys to meet the last kalinga tattoo artist and learn more about the meaning of the ancient tattoo tradition. It was also a huge hit in germany, spending 37 weeks in the top ten and also reached the top fifty in. Hello tattoo lovers, the star of this have a nice weekend is isia. Tattoos served several purposes in hawaii but was mainly used to establish someones place in the social hierarchy. How tattooists in hawaii are keeping handmade tribal. Tattoo can be a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling, jimmy buffet the traditional tattoo ceremony, is called kakau in hawaiian language. Because of a lot of inaccurate information floating around, i grew up thinking that only matai chiefs receive the malofie, and that it carries great spiritual almost occult even. Tattoo lifes outstanding community is the place where the past meets the present and the future of the tattoo art. She completed her masters thesis at the university of hawaii at manoa in 1992 on the early practice of tattooing in the marquesas islands. Venturing ashore, he was greeted with surprising reverence by the polynesian people who had been living on the island for over a thousand years.
Kakau is a hawaiian tattoo that holds mana and tradition. Share your ink with us and the world on our tattoo. The word tatau or kakau in actuality means to be placed upon and struck, and thats what were doing, where ka means to strike, kau is upon, to strike upon the skin. The difference between kakau and modern tattoos is that kakau has a meaning to it and is made for tradition and meant praise gods, genealogy, war hula, protection and has kaonas. Samoa, getting a tattoo from a local master in apia very rare video footage duration. I had this yearning, this desire, to be like my ancestors to connect. The word tatau originated in the islands of tahiti, and the symbols have meaning and the meaning tells the story of each tahitians personal history. Collected together in one place, for the first time, are texts by explorers, journalists, physicians, psychiatrists, anthropologists. Kakau the ancient form of hawaiian tattooing with keone.
Traditional tribal tattoos, or kakau, used an ink created from the suit of ground kukui nuts and sugarcane juice. And like the name suggests, the designs are handtapped onto the skin. This ageold practice of making traditional tribal tattoos by hand, known as kakau, was pushed to the brink of extinction over the course of the last several hundred years, but now its making a comeback thanks to the efforts of a handful of artists. Brazilian, hailing from the amazon, kakau lives between london and lisbon and in this interview tells us how her love of tattoo is what got her involved in this line of work. Have a nice weekend with the free spirit of isia top. Kakau was made to praise gods, genealogy, war, hula, protection, and it had kaonas. The polynesian tattoo handbook the origins of polynesian society. The word tattoo in the english language is believed to have originated from the samoan word tatau the tatau process for the pea is extremely painful, and undertaken by tufuga ta tatau master tattooists, using a set of handmade tools. I was thrilled about the explanations behind the designs and patterns. A talk by kumu keoni nunes, teacher and tattoo artist. I kind of equate kakau to being an author of a book, says nunes. The shoulders and upper arms above the elbow are associated with strength and bravery and they relate to people such as warriors and chiefs.
The tattoo history source book is an exhaustingly thorough, lavishly illustrated collection of historical records of tattooing throughout the world, from ancient. The islands of hawaii are the birthplace of one of the oldest forms body art in the world, dating back to the very origins of tattooing. What you should know about the traditional hawaiian art of. Hi, my name is kamnara klein, people call me kakau.
The indians originally this was written as a school assignment about body art among the natives of america. I was hoping to find a comprehensive guide to the symbology of specifically hawaiian tattoos and this is probably as close as you can get since much of the information has been lost to time and misinterpretation not to mention the abundance of information out there. Every polynesian tattoo book written after 1996 refferences this book. Traditional hawaiian tattoo expert keone nunes on the. Lyle tuttle, 70 years in tattooing the weekend was filled with many reunions and artists and fans came from far and wide to appreciate and experience the glimpse into lyles collection. Collected together in one place, for the first time, are texts by explorers, journalists, physicians, psychiatrists, anthropologists, scholars, novelists, criminologists, and tattoo. French polynesian culture tahiti culture tahiti tradition. Shunning the tattoo gun, enthusiasts like alison trowbridge were enjoying the tapping of needles into their skin while lying on the bamboo mats.
And it was taken by european sailors and brought back to europe. And instead of saying tatau, they called it tattoo. A look into ancient hawaiis handtapping method for tattoo. What you should know about the traditional hawaiian art of tattoo. See more ideas about hawaiian tattoo, tattoos and tribal tattoos. The tattoo history source book the tattoo history source book is an exhaustively thorough, lavishly illustrated collection of historical records of tattooing throughout the world, from ancient times to the present. There was a time when it seemed like the traditional kakau style of tattooing seemed like it was a dying art. Now its making a comeback, and one hawaii artist is leading the way. Tahitian people believe in the presence of tohu, the god of tatau, who painted all. The 20th century has seen many traditional societies trying to recover their precolonial history, and practices that the european colonizers tried to erase are being revived and relived. Home to the centuriesold hawaiian kakau tradition, prototypical american. It has plenty of information packed in to a few pages.
The truth about the samoan tattoo tatau one samoana. How did tattooing progress from its simple origins, when tattoos. Tricia allen is a tattooist with an extensive background in polynesian history. But i wanted to kind of do it in the traditional style. Megan massacre is the darling of the tattoo industry. It begins at the waist and covers just about every bit of skin, right down to the knees, with intricate designs. Stacie caires of kaimuki shows off a tattoo that represents her family genealogy and lineage. The hawaiian tattoo master at work speaking about the role of kakau across history. Vic stefanu world travels and adventures 108,236 views.
Kakau, the art of traditional tattoo in hawaii cvlt nation. In our tribal guide to the history, styles, and artists that keep the ritual of tribal tattooing alive, we talk not only about the first examples of tattooing in the history of humankind, but we also show you some seriously cool tattooists who, using their own aesthetic and style, merge many different folk arts to convey certain pattern or ornamental tattoos. Selected annotated bibliography on traditional hawaiian tattooing. In each line drawn on the body, the maohi of the past is connected to the mana of the present and future. The tattoo by chris mckinney this is a solid book, but not necessarily because its the best writing. A wellorganized and researched catalog of the classic sailor flash with a slew of great stories and descriptions to go with them. Puku as a prefix or suffix is also used as an intensifier of the word it qualifies. Collected together in one place, for the first time, are texts by explorers, journalists, physicians, psychiatrists, anthropologists, scholars, novelists, criminologists, and tattoo artists. To read more about this story, pickup a copy of the book tattoo. Tattoo history samoan tattoo images history of tattoos and tattooing worldwide.
The pea malofie see comments below is what we call the traditional tattoo given to men. The rhythmic tapping of his moli tattooing needle inside waianaes iconic hale ola hoopakolea building is syncopated with the drops of light rain outside. Tattooing has been a huge signifier of returning to traditional ways of life in polynesian countries like hawaii, where the practice of kakau i ka uhi striking. Home traditional hawaiian tattooing research guides at. I have compiled a brief summary of many key points regarding the timeline of. The tattoo history source book is an exhaustingly thorough, lavishly illustrated collection of historical records of tattooing throughout the world, from ancient times to the present. Although no machine is used in kakau, nunes says its a much quicker process than using machine usually in half the time. Im going to hawaii sometime in june, and i would love to get a kakau tattoo, done by a professional whos located somewhere on the big island. Their was many different processes on making the kakau but the main process was puncturing, another process was imprint. This event came from a love for tattooing and preserving its history, there were many moving parts and many helping handstoo many to mention here, but making. What everybody ought to know about tattoo hoomana spa maui. Hawaii tattoo was recorded in belgium in 1961 and spent two months in the belgian charts. The tool at the top from fiji has a head made of an iridescent material possibly.
Nunes resurrected this indigenous practice from the depths of his and his ancestors recessed memory. I was wondering where i might find one, and how much one might cost me. The tradition of tattooing oneself to commemorate life achievements, heal the body, expand the mind, memorialize loved ones, and enhance ones physical appearance is as old as mankind itself and permeates nearly every culture around the globe. The history of the tattoo is a rich and interesting one. Collected together in one place, for the first time. If id followed a chronological order this article should have been published in between my pre. What i aimed to expose in tatau is the history of the conquest of a name and a. The word tattoo is one of only a few words used internationally that have a polynesian origin coming from the word tatau used in tahiti, tonga, and samoa. Its prevalence in mainstream culture today is stronger and more widespread than ever. Hawaii tattoo is an instrumental by the waikikis, released in the us in 1964, on kapp records.
Kakau was placed in different areas like on the back, chest, hands, arms, legs palms, and tounges. At one honolulu tattoo studio, we saw on a shelf books used. This book was very speculative about the meanings of the designs, as is the whole history of the subject as i soon discovered. Where to get a kakau tattoo on the big island of hawaii. There is still debate over the definitive origins of polynesian culture and that transfers also, to the notion of tattooing. Tattoo traditions of polynesia tattooist tricia allen. The maori word kikopuku used to designate this part of the union of the words kiko flesh, body and puku swollen. Uhi hawaiian tattoo expert keone nunes sits, tattooing one of his four haumana students in the roomechoing the traditions of times long pastas longtime apprentice keliiokalani makua observes. She is tattooed from head to toe and this second skin has made her body very harmonious. She is a true tattoo lover who found herself through tattooing.