Polynesian Culture: Island Life

Island Life

There have been many discussions about the start of Polynesian culture, but one thing that has been proven is that Polynesia is not a single tribe but a multipart one which contains various tribes within it. Polynesians which includes Marquesans, Samoans, Niueans, Tongans, Cook Islanders, Hawaiians, Tahitians, and Māori, are linked by DNA to the people in parts of Southeast Asia("Purpose & History”). Polynesia is a sub-region of Oceania which includes a group of over 1,000 islands. These islands are scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean and are within a triangle that has New Zealand, Hawaii and Easter Island as its corners. The people who live on these islands are referred to as Polynesians because of their similar

When European explorers found the islands of Polynesia, the common ancestry of the Polynesians was evident – the inhabitants of widely separated islands looked alike, spoke alike, and had similar cultural practices.

As there is no writing in the Polynesian culture, the Polynesians used tattooing full of distinctive signs to express their identity and personality. Tattoos would indicate status in a hierarchy society: sexual maturity, genealogy and one 's rank within the society. Nearly everyone in ancient Polynesian society had tattoos. Tattooing is a sacred ceremony in Polynesian culture. According to the culture of Maori, all high-ranking Māori were tattooed, and those who went without tattoos were seen as people with lowest social level.

Traditional tattooing tools consist of a comb with needles carved from bone or tortoiseshell, fixed to a wooden handle. The needles are dipped into a pigment made from the soot of burnt candlenut mixed with water or oil. The needles are then placed on the skin and the handle is tapped with a second wooden stick, causing the comb to pierce the skin and insert the pigment. The name tatau comes from the sound of this

Women of rank or wealth may have their legs tattooed as well. Girls had their right hand tattooed by the age of twelve. Only after that were they allowed to prepare the meals and to participate in the rubbing of dead bodies with coconut oil. The most popular and appreciated designs are the tiki, the turtle, the gecko, the ray, the shark, the dolphin, as well as many abstracts symbolic designs. Men without any tattoos were despised, whereas those whose bodies were completely tattooed – the to’oata – were greatly admired. Therefore chiefs and warriors generally had the most elaborate