Cook Islands Tattoos

Cook Islands tribes or clans each usually recognized a particular fish, bird, insect or
plant that was sacred to that tribe and symbolized its unity. The ritual association requires
members of the clan to treat the totem with respect. Its supernatural help could also be sought
in times of distress. To the left is the symbol for the centipede with a poisonous bite is a
common totem of chiefs and is normally tattooed on the chief's back. Normally, the totem
represented one clan's affiliation while they can also show one's specific role as ariki or
otherwise within the clan.

While body decoration has been a phenomenon of many societies, the art of tattooing -
engraving the skin - reached its zenith in Polynesian societies, particularly New Zealand and
the Marquesas. Few cultures exhibited such adornment for all to see. the prevalence of the
tattoo has been attributed in part, to the relatively warm climate in which the Polynesians
lived and to their light skin. the relief of the tattoo is less impressive on dark skin. that may
explain why face painting was more prevalent amongst Pacific people with darker skins. In
the warm climes that the Polynesians inhabited, clothing was traditionally sparse and
consequently bodily tattoos were always on display. the cooler New Zealand climate may
explain, at least in part, why the face moko developed of its highest level in that country.

Their distinctive tattoos may have been the defining emblem of Maori people, but the
precise origin word itself =- tattoo - remains unclear. It is generally accepted that the English
word derived from the Polynesian tatau but the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary of
Historical Principles says tattoo was adopted into English in the mid 1600s (i.e. before any
English contact with Polynesia) with meanings including to tap, to strike, to thump and to
beat a drum. cook recorded tatau as the Tahitian term when he arrived there in 1769, so it is
possible that it came into English through another Austronesian language - most likely Malay
- with which the English were in contact much earlier. Some have speculated the art is called
tatau because it also means 'to read', but reading was not introduced until the 1820s. The
tattoo was not only a source of decoration, but often recorded a man's tribal affiliations,
lineage and achievements. The inflection of the word when spoken differs depending on
whether one is talking about reading or tattooing, suggesting the link between the two words
may be coincidental. both Te Rangi Hiroa' and Gotz claim 'tatau' comes from the word 'ta',
meaning to strike, thus tatau is the result of this tapping process.

Tatau is not the only word for this art form. In some French Polyensian islands and some
Cook Islands it was known as nana'o.

Motives for tattoo

The purposes of tattooing in traditional Polynesian society were multiple. One was,
particularly, for males, to enhance the body's erotic attractiveness. No doubt women found
tattoos on males attractive. Because the process of obtaining a tattoo was painful, it was also a
symbol of manliness. A tattoo also symbolised initiation - generally a child entering into the
adult world. One writer describes the ordeal of tattooing as having much in common with the
beatings, circumcision and nose-piercing that are often important within initiation cycles.
Tattoos were thought to enhance power and act as a talisman. Tattoo signified the status of the
person tattooed and sometimes portrayed a person's genealogy. Even daily life could be
depicted on the skin. When it came to the choice of tattoos "age, gender, social rank, the
personality of the tattooed person and his/her membership of a specific group; were all factors
which contributed to the choice of motifs", and, in some societies, the extent of the tattooing.
Indeed, so strong did the practice of tattooing become that it was considered abnormal for
one's skin to remain in its natural state beyond puberty.

The legend of the origin of the tattoo most consistent with this cosmological view (and
the most convincing) is that hld by the New Zealand Maori. Tattoo was created by Ruamoko,
the god of earthquakes, as a memorial to his desire and awe at the separation of his father
Ranginui, the god of the sky, and his mother Papatuanuku, the god of the earth. Uetonga, the
grandson of Ruaumoko and Hine nui te Po, the goddess of the underworld, was a master
tattooist and of a pale skinned and fair haired people known as the turehu. The legend goes
that Mataora, a handsome young chief, met and fell in love with Niwareka, daughter of
Uetonga. Mataora persuaded Niwareka to live with him but one day he it her. She left him and
returned to the underworld Mataora, grief struck by what he had done, followed. In his travels
he met Uetonga who was carving the face of a chief with tools - blood was flowing from the
incisions. Mataora's face was painted with ochre and Uetonga told him that such a tattoo was
only fit for wood - he smudged the tattoo on Mataora's face. Mataora then asked that his face
be tattooed. Although Mataora's face was so swollen he had to be fed and could only drink
through a funnel, word spread that he was a handsome man - made more handsome by the
tattoos. Niwareka came to see and discovered that the man was her lover. They returned to the
world we know and he and his descendants spread the art of tattoo from Havaiki to Tonga nui,
Ra'iatea, and New Zealand. According to an East Coast genealogical table Niwareka lived
seven generations before the great Maui and 63 generations ago or about 1600 years ago.

Tattoo motifs

The most heavily tattooed were those from the Marquesas where the whole body was
tattooed. Next were the Society Islands, the Tuamotu and Hawai'i where the torso was
tattooed. In New Zealand the focus was on the face. Samoan men were tattooed from the ribs
to the knees, and women from the thigh to the knees and legs. Traditionally the tattoos of the
Tongans were extensive and similar to those of the Samoan. The motifs traditionally tattooed
in the Cook Island were lightly spread over the entire body. Chevrons were grouped into
intricate patterns around the wrists, and long vertical and parallel lines containing broken, saw
tooth lines are to be found the length of the back. "Frequently, one finds tattooed on the back
of the hand a shooting star with five tails, perhaps a souvenir of the star that guided the first
navigators to their destinations. Each tribe, according to its island of origin or place from
which it departed - had its distinctive sign..." In 1905 Gudgeon recorded four motifs which he
attributed as distinctive ;patterns brought by the canoes so they arrived in Aitutaki and which
were used to distinguish one tribe from another. These included a pandanus flower, the komua
motif, the paeko motif and the punarua motif. However, there may have been as many as nine
motifs. The art of the southern Cook islands revolves around the human figure. The
iconography, although differing from island to island, is basically similar. Several fishing god
figures are painted with tattoo-like designs which heighten the plasticity of the otherwise
rough-hewn surface. Two known medium-sized figures exhibit smaller figures carved directly
on their chests, arms and buttocks.

One of the most painful tattoos, called rau-teve (representing a native arrowroot leaf),
is found in the cook Islands. It begins behind the ear descending the neck along the cervical
vertebrae. The pain was so great that even men of high rank recall their inability to have the
tattoo completed. This needs to be seen in context, for all tattooing was painful and for one
European in the Marquesas in the first half of the 1800s the nearest comparison he could think
of to tattooing was a visit to the dentist - an excruciating experience in those days.

The only island in the Cook Islands where tattooing wasn't practised was Manuae
(which had a moderate population at the time of Captain cook's visit, although tattooing was
not in evidence. In contrast, Captain cook recalls on the island of Mangaia the arms of men
between the elbow and the shoulder were tattooed so they were black. when dancing, the men
wore beautiful white shells fastened with sennit on their shoulders. The tattoo further
highlighted the beauty of these objects. In 1906 four tattooed Mangaians travelled to the
International Exhibition in Christchurch, New Zealand. They were tattooed on their arms,
legs, shoulders, upper arm, forearms, abdomen and back. On the island of Atiu the men were
tattooed from knee to heel, which made them appear as if they were boots, while those of
higher rank, and some women, were also tattooed on their sides and back "in an uncommon
manner."

Most striking were the Aitutakians whom the first missionary John Williams recalls as
being tattooed from head to foot and the ariki being lightly covered with a preparation of
turmeric and ginger which was thought to add much to the beauty of his appearance. Make
Ariki of Rarotonga was also beautifully tattooed. However, the most famous cook Islands
tattoo is that worn by Te Pou, a Rarotongan chief who, while tattooed from neck to toe, his
face was unmarked. Unfortunately, there are few renditions of Cook Islands tattoos and even
this, the most famous was drawn in London on verbal information given by missionaries.
therefore it cannot be accepted as accurate. That drawing depicts on Te Pou's knees the turtle,
the most sacred of "fish", reserved for the diet of chiefs only.

The 'carver's' tools

In the Cook Islands the tattoo 'carving' equipment consisted of combs made of the
bones of birds and rats tied at right angles to a short piece of wood. It was known as u'i tatau
in Rarotonga and ivi tatipatipa in Mangaia. A short piece of wood was used as a mallet to tap
the comb and make the incision. A piece of bark cloth, wrapped around the fourth and fifth
fingers of the left hand was used to wipe away blood. The comb was, before incision, dipped
in a dye. The pigment used came from holding half a coconut shell over a fire consisting of
burning kernels of candlenut. The charcoal was then scraped from the coconut shell.

Ironically, although Christian missionaries tried to annihilate the art of tattoo from Polynesia
and relegate it, not just to history but to oblivion, the tattoo became the trademark of sailors
throughout the world. A cruder form of this noble art became familiar to cultures to which it
had previously been unknown. Now this tradition millennia old is being revived by the
peoples who are versed in its traditions and are able to give this art form a cultural context
and, once again, true meaning.