Thursday, March 4, 2010

Samoan Tattoos

Samoan Tattoos going mainstream more than ever!

Samoan Tattoos are an ancient art that has been receiving a lot of attention in modern times. There are very few of us who  would be willing to undergo the painful and lengthy procedure that real Samoan Tattoo necessitate, we might well be attracted to elements of the traditional tribal designs and wish to incorporate them into our own tattoos – using modern methods (most of us anyway).

Samoan Tattoos artists used combs to apply their designs.
On the Pacific island of Samoa, tattooist carried out their art by dipping the pointed teeth of combs into ink and placing them on the surface of the skin. The comb was then tapped so that the teeth punctured the skin, inserting the ink. Both men and women had their bodies tattooed and elaborate designs could take several months to complete. In Samoan tradition, tattoos were restricted to the lower part of the body.

Samoan Tattoos are generally very large and denote the social status and rank of the man or woman who wears it.

Samoan Tattoos are receiving a lot of attention.

Samoan Tattoos is particularly impressive for several reasons – the designs are very intricate.
The men's tattoos are called pe'a, and can cover almost half of a man’s body, starting from just under the ribcage, and continuing down to the ankles. Very striking!

The women's tats are called malu. Samoan women also had tattoos on their hands.

Samoan Tattoos patterns are highly meaningful. You can tell just by looking at a Samoan Tattoos, even without knowing what its precise meaning is. The tattoo patterns and symbols are very complex with a lot of interlocked, interwoven shapes and patterns.

In Samoa's cultural past most males were tattooed between the ages of 14-18, when it was determined they had stopped growing, so the designs would not stretch and suffer in beauty. Today, there has been a strong revival of traditional tattooing in the past generation, not only in Samoa but throughout Polynesia, often as a symbol of cultural identity.As mentioned before, they are also remarkable because of the sheer expanse of skin that they occupy.

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