Hawaiian Tattoos

Hawaiian tattoos and body art have a history of thousands of years and experience a renewed popularity since the 90s, together with other tribal tattoo styles. Aloha!

There’s more to Hawaii than flowers and leis, after all – the Hawaiian islands are part of a larger chain, the Polynesian Islands, which include other island cultures such as the Maori and the Samoan, tribal communities with a rich tattoo tradition.

Tribal Hawaiian arm tattoo

All of these cultures were famous for their tattoo art. Modern tribal tattoos are based on the traditional tattoo art of the Polynesian islands, and Hawaiian arm tattoos represent both the popular culture of Hawaii and the older tribal traditions.

In a sense, it’s natural that Hawaiian tattoos are so popular right now. Other Hawaiian designs and styles – like Hawaiian shirts – have had their day and currently have a strong retro appeal. Hawaiian arm tattoos are also a manifestation of the resurgence of ‘Tiki’ culture, so popular in the 1950s and 60s.

Hawaiian Tribal Tattoos

Tattooing was an important aspect of the Hawaiian culture, just like anywhere on the Polynesian islands. The Hawaiians even have tattoo gods and each time a member of the community gets a tattoo, prayers had to be done in the temple.

Hawaiian tribal tattoo art, known as Kakau, has been practiced for thousands of years and for a variety of purposes:

• Personal identification: unlike other Polynesian tattoo styles, Hawaiian tattoos are used for personal identification (instead of ceremonial purposes).
• Talisman: tattoos were believed to offer protection.
• As a symbol of mourning for a loved one.
• Adornment

Kukui Nuts, Used in Hawaiian Tattoo Ink

The Hawaiian tribal tattoos were mostly black, the tattoo ink was made of a mixture of kukui nuts and sugarcane juice.

Getting a tattoo in a tribal community was not a very pleasant occasion, modern tattoo equipment was not part of tribal life. Instead they used sharp and pointy parts of animals, like bird beaks and claws, that were connected to a branch and hit with a mallet.

The Hawaiian tattoo designs are larger compared to other Polynesian designs, and bolder as well. Typical Hawaiian tattoo designs include:

• Lizards: the Hawaiians had a great respect and fear for lizards.
• Sea turtle tattoos
  
  
  
• Dolphins
• Tropical flowers
• Arrows

Typical spots for tribal Hawaiian tattoos:

• Male: the legs, arms, face and torso
• Female: the hands, wrist and tongue

In the beginning of the 19th century, when European settlers arrived in Hawaii, the art of the Hawaiian tattoo slowly vanished until its renaissance in the 20th century.

Hawaiian Flower Tattoos

Tattoos incorporating flower designs – as a lot of Hawaiian tattoos do – don’t appeal to everyone, though it should be noted that Hawaiian tattoos are not particularly feminine despite their floral components.

Hibiscus tattoo

The most popular Hawaiian flower tattoo design is without any doubt the Hibiscus (t he yellow variant of the Hibiscus flower is the state flower of Hawaii). Common Hibiscus colors are yellow, red, pink, white and purple.

Another popular Hawaiian tattoo design is the orchid tattoo, especially ghost orchid designs. Ghost orchids are very beautiful flowers and rather peculiar. Orchids are an endangered species, what makes the symbolic meaning of orchid tattoos something like "rare beauty".

Hawaiian Band Tattoos

Hawaiian arm tattoo

Hawaiian band tattoos are commonly found on the arm and the legs. Hawaiian arm tattoos are often a nod to the traditional Hawaiian tattoo style, though with a decidedly modern appearance.

Michael Malone, tattoo artist and one of the students of Sailor Jerry (see further), created the Hawaiian armband tattoo in the 70s. Although he based his designs on the traditional Hawaiian tattoo motifs, the armband itself is not traditional. The armband tattoo became popular amongst Hawaiian youth that wanted to express its heritage.

Famous Hawaiian Tattoo Artists

2 Names come to mind when thinking about Hawaiian tattoo artists:

• Keone Nunes: being a traditional tattoo artist, he uses traditional tattoo equipment like tattoo ink made from kukui nuts and a fine-tooth comb made from the tusk of a hippo.
• Aisea Toetuôu: originally from Tonga, moved to Hawaii.

Sailor Jerry

Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins is one of the most distinguished American tattoo artists. He lived in Honolulu, Hawaii, that's why I mention him here.

His tattoo designs are what we now call "old school", a style that is in vogue again nowadays. Mike Malone, the creator of the Hawaiian armband tattoo, took over Sailor Jerry's tattoo shop and tattoo flash in the 70s, after Sailor Jerry's dead.

Tattoos have formed an integral part of the culture of Western Polynesia. In that sense, the Hawaiian culture is no different with regard to the importance it accorded to tattoos. The first recorded mention of the Hawaiian tattoos is in the works of Freyainet and Kotzebue expeditions where many lithographs display the presence of  these tattoos.

The primitive method of tattooing on the body is fascinating. In fact, the mythology behind the art regarded this having been taught by the sons of the God of creation and as a result the process of tattooing itself formed an elaborate ritual that had to be shown a degree of reverence.

The tools used for tattooing in Hawaii in the earlier times were all borrowed from nature, a far cry from the technologically advanced instruments used today. Some of the most commonly mentioned tools used for tattooing were - birds' beaks, claws, fish bones etc.

The tool of choice was then slit into two-three sections and then fixed upon a stick. This was then dipped in the dye and the “tattoo needle” was run over the body. It was also gently hit at the same time by a two-feet long stick. In fact, it is believed that the name tatau (contributing to tattoo) comes from the sound made while doing this.  Understandably the procedure was quiet painful and also risky in terms of the possibility of contracting an infection, yet this was such an integral part of the Hawaiian life that to not get it done would have amounted to challenging the societal norm. The dye used for tattooing was derived from nature, such as the popular concoction of the burnt remains of the kukui nut mixed with sugarcane juice resulting in black ink. Other plant juices were also used - mixing the juices of the leaves of the Hawaiian iris and fruits, Hawaiian pokeberry plumbag some of which were slightly poisonous.

To grasp the role played by tattoos in the traditional Hawaiian culture, one can begin with the semantics. The literal translation of the word for tattoo in Hawaiian is uhi, meaning a covering. This hints at the scope of the importance it would carry in a society especially in terms of defining hierarchy. The symbolism of tattoos was as a benchmark of privilege whereby the quantity and intricacy of the design indicated one’s status.

Unlike how tattoos are perceived today as symbols of irreverence and alternative lifestyle, Hawaiians regarded more tattoos on a man’s body as signs of achievement and status. The detailed tattoos were done by the highly skilled artists; an exclusive preserve for the chiefs and their families while the rest of the population and women got it done by the apprentices. The tattoos of women were less extensive being limited to the hand, arms, feet, ears and lips.

Other symbolic reasons for which the tattoo was used - cosmetic purpose, slaves were tattooed as a sign of punishment and women got it done to during mourning to display their loyalty for the departed one. Tattoo designs were also done during auspicious occasions and in many cases the individual's aumakua, the family or personal god was tattooed for protection. Patterns such as reeds or other natural forms, graced men's arms, legs, torso and face. Women were generally tattooed on the hand, fingers, wrists and sometimes on their tongue

In terms of the design element, there is a marked difference between those done before the Hawaiians came into contact with the Europeans. In this period, the designs were geometric with liberal use of lines, circles etc, whereas after the arrival of the Europeans the influence displayed itself in depiction of pictorial objects such as goats, guns etc.

One can gauge the importance of this ritual in the Hawaiian way of life by the fact that the resurgence of interest in tattooing in Hawaii is seen as the final indicator in the renaissance of Hawaiian culture.

Traditional tattoos had a variety of significant roles in the lives of the Hawaiians ranging from as a mark of high rank, ornamentation to a spiritual gesture. A very important of their life they are a great tool for understanding this ancient society, its rituals, norms and the way of life. It would not be misplaced to say that tattooing was an evolved art form for the Hawaiians who used this as a symbol which codified the basics of their society – hierarchies, religious and spiritual moments. It is also fascinating to observe the shift in the way tattoos are regarded in the society now, but even more fascinating is the fact that their basic function for which they were used in the Hawaiian society as ‘codes’ communicating information about the one who had them still remains. They are symbolic of a certain lifestyle - the type of tattoo (ex. Prisoners’ tattoos are almost like notebooks recording their lives, discussions about celebrities’ tattoos), their association with a world of rebellion; and this just goes to show how tradition still endures though its manifestation might have changed dramatically.