We filled 8 of these notebooks.
Why this wiki?
Because we love Polynesia and its traditions, and we've seen first hand how hard it is to find reliable sources about Polynesian tattoos.
Even today, with the whole world connected, reliable information is hard to find, disperse among a lot of misinformation.
When we started over 20 years ago there was not much available other than on site. Even today, 80% of the articles online quote our Handbooks or the articles of this website, as they have become over the years the reference for Polynesian tattoos. You see symbols cards somewhere? They're likely from our books:
Examples on the web, sourced from The POLYNESIAN TATTOO Handbook
It's been a long journey, and not an easy one either, but PASSION can go a long way if you let it guide you.
The Problem: Finding Reliable Sources
The main problem was finding reliable sources: the exact symbolism, the exact meanings of many elements, patterns, and symbols have mostly been lost and oral traditions alone can't fill this void.
That's why we did not stop there, but decided to study other mediums that preserved similar patterns (like traditional printed mats and cloths), and to go through the diaries of the first European explorers who got in contact with Polynesian peoples: while many times it's just about how many gallons of water were taken on board at each stopover, how many coconuts, sweet potatoes or any other supply of vegetables, fruits, and meat or fish traded to refurnish the holds of the ships, sometimes hidden pearls can be found, where descriptions of tattoos appear along with insights on their symbols and cultural significance.
Voyages were made with the specific purpose of exploring and studying these new lands and their inhabitants. These expeditions usually had artists and naturalists on board and to them we owe most of the information about pre-contact tattoos. And even if it's not easy to remount back to the original drawings, it's always a good idea to do it, and somehow necessary because over the years those drawings have been used as references by other artists to illustrate the life on the Polynesian islands, often changing or modifying them arbitrarily. This unfortunately means that later drawings can't be trusted or held true to understand traditional tattoos and how they were applied:
A Frustrating Treasure Hunt
It was like a treasure hunt (and a frustrating one at times) where small gems were hidden in old books, oral traditions, and contemporary lore, as sparse in a sea of confusing infos as the very Polynesian islands in the Pacific ocean.
It took us years, and we did not want all this to get lost, as it could help other people not to go through the same frustrations... you perhaps.
That's why we started publishing these articles and also the two Polynesian Tattoo Handbooks: they collect all the verified info we gathered.
We publish this wiki to thank all the people we met, the artists, scholars, and friends who shared their knowledge with us and made this possible.
All the articles are also downloadable as collectible PDF cards:
Books and Video Course
The books and the video course (which includes them) are a shortcut to have that knowledge immediately at hand, but in time it will all be available here too, so keep checking every new article (you can even have each one delivered to your inbox effortlessly by joining our symbols cards delivery service right above here) and feel free to pop us a message if you have any question (well, any question that we haven't already answered here).
Either you have a Polynesian tattoo, or are interested in getting one, we are sure these pages will help you get an all-round better understanding of this fascinating form of art.
Now, ready to start your voyage through the beauty and symbolism of Polynesian tattoos? Click the link below to start from the first article, or go to the index and jump to what tickles your interest the most... enjoy the reading!