Hawaiian Tattoos

Hawaiian Tattoos

Tattooing in Hawaii
Like many other Polynesian-descended cultures, the native Hawaiians practiced tattooing. The most heavily tattooed members of the tribe would be the royal family, followed by other court officials and persons who were in the royal family by marriage.

Hawaiian Tattoos

The designs were monochromatic, tattooed in black against brown skin. The patterns and layout were strongly geometric and there were many shapes and symbols which represented the natural island world: stones, waves, fish, sharks, turtles, rain, sun, birds.

Hawaiian Tattoos

Tattoos were traditionally created by using a tool much like a sharpened rake to prick the designs. The tattoo tool would be hit by another stick to make the punctures. Assistants helped by stretching the skin for the tattoo artist and by wiping away the blood.
Rae's Hawaiian Rune Tattoos

Hawaiian Tattoos

My tattoo designs came from a set of Hawaiian rune stones made by a friend of mine who lives on Oahu. She got the designs from a guy who created an entire Hawaiian oracle, creating modern rune graphics based on ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs from across the entire series of islands. They explored ancient roles (sacred elder, master), incorporated animal totems (shark, turtle, owl) and other concepts (the elements, play, prayer). But with all her notes, she doesn't have the name of the guy who came up with all these designs and she can't remember it either.

Hawaiian Tattoos

I was doing a reading with the set of stones and cards she made when I "saw" my tattoo idea very clearly and knew this was jus the thing for my next piece of ink. I talked with a friend who was a local on the island to get a recommendation for a shop (she knew of several to be totally avoided!) and who wanted to come along for her next piece of ink as well.

Hawaiian Tattoos

A woman artist at Odyssey Tattoo in Wahiawa named Alex did my tattoo.  She traced the designs I brought in to make temporary stencils to apply to my skin.  Once we agreed on the placement, she tattooed them.  The outline of all the symbols was done first, then she went back and filled them all in to be solid.  All in all, the entire process took about forty-five minutes from start to finish.

Hawaiian Tattoos

Before you get a Hawaiian Tattoo...
Think about your time in the water!  New tattoos need to be kept out of water.  You will need to avoid swimming in the ocean, and soaking in pools or hot tubs for one to two weeks, until the skin fully heals and all the scabbing is done.

Hawaiian Tattoos

Think about your time in the sun!  The number one enemy of tattoos new and old is the sun:  it makes them fade in color and will even make them blur softly over time.  And when the tattoo surface is still open, you won't want to put sunscreen on it as it can contain a lot of chemicals that will irritate the healing skin wound.  Most often the best thing you can do on a beach vacation is NOT get tattooed.
If a shop or artist will only do designs off their walls and not draw something up for you, go find a new tattoo studio!  If you truly want a piece of art that you can be happy with for a lifetime, get something original from an artist, not a scratcher who only knows how to copy what someone else drew.

HAWAIIAN TATTOOS

 

Hawaii islands belongs to the Polynesian islands, all of which have a very rich and old tradition of tattoos. Most of the modern day tattoos are based on the traditional tribal tattoos from the Polynesian islands. The word for tattoo in the Hawaiian language is uhi, which means covering the body. There is a belief that the western world was introduced to the world of tattoos as a body art only after Captain James Cook made his famous journey to the Hawaii islands.

Hawaiian Tattoo History

In ancient Hawaii, tattoos were made as an indicator of the importance of the person in the hierarchy of the society they lived in. Each of the tattoo which was made had a meaning attached to it and the tattoos were displayed on various parts of the body. Hawaiian tattoo designs were made on the hands, feet, fingers, calves, back, shoulders, chest, etc. Face tattoos were rather very popular in the Hawaiian islands. Face tattoos were made on the brow ridge, cheek bone, cheeks and chin.

Hawaiian tattoos have a deep and personal meaning and they were often made for individual identification and not only for ceremonial purposes, as was common in the other islands of Polynesia. Read on Polynesian tattoo. The number of tattoos on a person’s body was directly proportional to the wealth possessed by the individual. Tattoos were not worn only by common man, but they were also worn by defeated warriors and convicted criminals. In a way this was a method used to brand people. Bird beaks, bird claws and large fish bones were used to make the tattoos. Black ink was used to make tattoos in the Hawaiian islands. The designs used were bold and also big in size.

Hawaiian Tattoo Meanings

A lot of significance was attached to the tattoos in the Hawaiian islands. Since a lot of significance was attached to the tattoos, the people were very particular about the tattoo designs. The tattoos were made for various causes. They were made to mark mourning, for protection from the evil spirits, decoration or as a part of celebration, not to forget social status and personal identification. Click to read on Hawaiian tribal tattoos and Polynesian tribal tattoos.

Hawaiian Tattoo Designs

The Hawaiian tattoo symbols often have hidden meanings that are generally much deeper and personal than what it appears visually. Lizards (geckos) and sea turtles are very popular designs in Hawaiian tattoos. Sea turtles symbolize fertility, while geckos are symbol of fear and respect. Along with the sea turtles, there are other sea creatures, which also have their own place in Hawaii tattoos. Dolphins are among popular sea creatures used for tattoos. They are looked upon as an expression of joy. After dolphins, sharks have a special place in Hawaiian tattoos. Shark tattoos are made by people who have chosen a shark as their personal God. It also denotes protection against attacks from shark.

Flower tattoos have a special place in Hawaiian tattoos. However, these tattoo designs may not always appeal to everyone, as these designs may not particularly be feminine despite the floral components in them. Hibiscus tattoos are the most popular and commonly used Hawaiian flower tattoo design. It can be attributed to the fact that the yellow hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii. The colors used to make these tattoos are yellow, red, pink, white and purple. Among flower tattoos, orchid tattoos are also very popular, especially ghost orchid tattoo designs. Ghost orchids are beautiful and have rather peculiar features. Now that orchids are endangered, the symbolic meaning of orchid tattoos is ‘rare beauty”.

People often chose to get Hawaiian tattoos as they are proud of their heritage. They are also made to show their liking for the Hawaiian culture and heritage after a visit to the islands. There are a number of celebrities who sport Hawaiian tattoo designs. As always, before getting a tattoo done, make sure you have thought well about the design you want, as tattoo removal is a painful and tedious process. That being said, once you have made your decision, the above Hawaiian tattoo ideas can be the base you choose your own unique tattoo from.

Hawaiian Tattoos

Hawaiian Tattoos come in many different types and styles. Some of the more popular Hawaiian designs could be put either in the naturalistic or abstract genres. Of course the abstract designs are almost exclusively of a tribal nature. But, that’s because tribal designs actually originated in the Hawaiian Islands. Look at the Hawaiian tattoo listed here. On one side of the design is a traditional tribal design, something that you see on a fairly regular basis. I especially like the dark colors and the thin quality of the lines. You don’t see that too often in tribal tattoos but it’s something that is very commonly seen among Hawaiian tattoos. Most tribal designs have thick and heavy strokes to the lines, which makes them appear heavier. But, these pencil thin lines have a light and almost airy quality to them. Now, the design element on the right is something I’m not too familiar with. It could be some kind of ancient religious artifact or maybe even a medallion for protection. I’m not entirely sure. But, it does seem to blend in very nicely. I can surely see adding other elements to this design, however. Maybe some sea turtles or flowers. That would be a nice touch.

The Hawaiian tattoo in the picture is very dramatic and stylistic. But, is that the type of design you think of when someone says Hawaiian tattoo? Probably not. In most peoples minds, Hawaiian tattoos consist of flowery or colorful designs. What a lot of people don’t realize is that Hawaiian tattoos can also contain a tribal element. As a fact, tribal tattoos were most likely invented by the inhabitants of these Pacific islands. Most of the Hawaiian body tattoos were from tribal traditions, as is the case in the picture. Actually the Hawaiian tattoo in the picture is probably more characteristic of these type of designs. The floral and flashy designs are often the result of designs inspired to attract tourist and not be representative of the Hawaiian culture. So, if you fly over to the Islands then venture away from the tourist trap tattoo parlors. Strike out on a less traveled path. Find a traditional Hawaiian tattoo artist and let him give you a design that is rich in culture and heritage and is a true representation of Hawaiian culture and society. That way when you get home you have something truly unique and quite special.