The Marquesan tattoo

The Marquesan tattoo

The archipelago of Marquesas is the most northerly archipelago in Polynesia. The islands that make up the island are wild and little inhabited. It is made up of huge cliffs and lush vegetation.

(photography from https://pacifique-a-la-carte.com/voyage-polynesie/croisieres/croisiere-marquises)

(photography from http://www.tahitiguide.com/@fr/2-20-carte_polynesie_francaise.htma)
The inhabitants of the Marquesas are true artists. Particularly gifted in all the art of Polynesia, namely sculpture (on wood, stone, pig bone), dance, music, drawing and tattooing. Moreover, it is necessary to attribute to them the style of what the uninitiated commonly call the "Polynesian" style. Because even if each archipelago has its own differences, the most widely used and internationally recognized style is the Marquesan style.
The symbols used represent everything that has been part of the everyday life of this people for centuries. The nature for which each animal and plant has its own graphic representation, the position in the group (warrior, wise, ancestor, man, woman etc...) but also the symbols such as courage, love, jealousy, belonging to a group, perseverance etc....

(image from http://www.fenua-tattoo.com/content/les-marquises)
Because of this, thanks to this veritable glossary, which has been in existence for a very long time, it is possible to mark one's skin with a particular meaning and tell its story. Although the tattoo has become ornamental today, the symbols used by Marquesan tattoo artists still have the same meaning and there are symbols (like chief or king for example) that will not be tattooed on anyone.

(image from http://www.tiki-tattoo.com/page-tikipedia.html-article-kopiti)

(image from https://motifs.hypotheses.org/502)
The tattoo was, like dance and polytheism, completely banned from their culture when Protestant missionaries arrived on March 5,1797 (now a holiday!). Indeed, under the guise of a single religion, the missionaries prohibited the Marquesans (and all Polynesians) from practicing dance (which they found too provocative and subversive), polytheism, sculptures of ancestral deities and tikis, and tattoos that represented an offence against God.
Fortunately, these practices, which have become "tabu" (prohibited) for nearly two centuries, have been restored and today's Polynesia is once again radiating from all its cultural treasures.
In my case, I was first tattooed in metropolitan France at the age of 18. A small tattoo from a decal that didn't require any effort on the part of the tattooist and had to be done to several thousand people all over the world... My first Marquisese tattoo is from the birth of my daughter, 13 years later. This is where I got to know Colas, a Marquesan living in Toulon, who tattooed my calf by asking me about my life and the symbols I wanted to have. In 4 hours, my entire calf was covered with a set of symbols representing my life and a perfect harmony with the curves of my body. It's as if I had always had this work on me, it was made FOR ME!

Then, several stages of my life gave rise to new tattoos.
This one made by Varii HUUTI

Then those, made by his cousins Teni and Rikani. The latter are now installed in Tarbes in France!!

Each tattoo is done by hand and there is total trust between the tattooist and the tattooist. One entrusts his body, the other entrusts his art.

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