Cook Islands Tattoos

Cook Islands tribes or clans each usually recognized a particular fish, bird, insect or plant that was sacred to that tribe and symbolized its unity. The ritual association requires members of the clan to treat the totem with respect. Its supernatural help could also be sought in times of distress. To the left is the symbol for the centipede with a poisonous bite is a common totem of chiefs and is normally tattooed on the chief's back. Normally, the totem represented one clan's affiliation while they can also show one's specific role as ariki or otherwise within the clan. While body decoration has been a phenomenon of many societies, the art of tattooing engraving the skin - reached its zenith in Polynesian societies, particularly New Zealand and the Marquesas.

 Few cultures exhibited such adornment for all to see. the prevalence of the tattoo has been attributed in part, to the relatively warm climate in which the Polynesians lived and to their light skin. the relief of the tattoo is less impressive on dark skin. that may explain why face painting was more prevalent amongst Pacific people with darker skins. In the warm climes that the Polynesians inhabited, clothing was traditionally sparse and consequently bodily tattoos were always on display. the cooler New Zealand climate may explain, at least in part, why the face moko developed of its highest level in that country. The word Their distinctive tattoos may have been the defining emblem of Maori people, but the precise origin word itself =- tattoo - remains unclear. It is generally accepted that the English word derived from the Polynesian tatau but the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary of Historical Principles says tattoo was adopted into English in the mid 1600s (i.e. before any English contact with Polynesia) with meanings including to tap, to strike, to thump and to beat a drum. cook recorded tatau as the Tahitian term when he arrived there in 1769, so it is possible that it came into English through another Austronesian language - most likely Malay - with which the English were in contact much earlier. Some have speculated the art is called tatau because it also means 'to read', but reading was not introduced until the 1820s. The tattoo was not only a source of decoration, but often recorded a man's tribal affiliations, lineage and achievements. The inflection of the word when spoken differs depending on whether one is talking about reading or tattooing, suggesting the link between the two words may be coincidental. both Te Rangi Hiroa' and Gotz claim 'tatau' comes from the word 'ta', meaning to strike, thus tatau is the result of this tapping process. Tatau is not the only word for this art form. In some French Polyensian islands and some Cook Islands it was known as nana'o.