The Role Of Tattoos In The Polynesian Islands
Research Paper
Polynesia’s Islands Tattooing
The Polynesian Islands are made up of over a thousand islands which are scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The native people that inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians, and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs. In the late 1700s a captain by the name James Cook traveled to many of the Islands and documented many of the natives and the body art. There are four islands within the Polynesian Islands that have some very distinctive practices about their tattooing. Even though Easter Island, Hawaii, Marquesas and New Zealand have a lot of common aspects of tattooing; Captain Cook helps show that there are also many uncommon aspects about their tattooing as well.
Captain James Cook was one of the first who brought tattooing back Europe (Thomas 17). As he traveled island to island he found that there were many forms of tattooing on each of the …show more content…
Both men and women would get tattoos so they could be protected against evil (DeMello 183). Another reason for getting tattoos was to remember important events through one’s life. There were also some social and religious rituals that many people could not partake in because they did not have the right tattoos to enter (DeMello 183). When it came to the women tattooing they would get their faces, lips, ears, feet and hands marked (DeMello183). The men of the Marquesas Island would continue tattooing their bodies until every inch of the body was covered. Tattooing was an incredibly integral part of life among the Marquesas Islands (Asaff). Some of the tattoos were worn as appearance enhancing so a mate would find them more
Polynesia’s Islands Tattooing
The Polynesian Islands are made up of over a thousand islands which are scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The native people that inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians, and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs. In the late 1700s a captain by the name James Cook traveled to many of the Islands and documented many of the natives and the body art. There are four islands within the Polynesian Islands that have some very distinctive practices about their tattooing. Even though Easter Island, Hawaii, Marquesas and New Zealand have a lot of common aspects of tattooing; Captain Cook helps show that there are also many uncommon aspects about their tattooing as well.
Captain James Cook was one of the first who brought tattooing back Europe (Thomas 17). As he traveled island to island he found that there were many forms of tattooing on each of the …show more content…
Both men and women would get tattoos so they could be protected against evil (DeMello 183). Another reason for getting tattoos was to remember important events through one’s life. There were also some social and religious rituals that many people could not partake in because they did not have the right tattoos to enter (DeMello 183). When it came to the women tattooing they would get their faces, lips, ears, feet and hands marked (DeMello183). The men of the Marquesas Island would continue tattooing their bodies until every inch of the body was covered. Tattooing was an incredibly integral part of life among the Marquesas Islands (Asaff). Some of the tattoos were worn as appearance enhancing so a mate would find them more