Vai: (Samoan, Marquesan, Tahitian), water.
The word, also wai in Hawaiian and Maori, is a generic term to indicate water, a liquid. The fact that it is shared by most Polynesian languages testifies to its immense importance.
Water is a constant, ubiquitous presence in the life of peoples from the islands. The Pacific Ocean was a particularly rich resource that granted the life of those who turned to it for food.
Regional Tattoo Differences (Light vs. Dark)
The geography of the archipelagos deeply impacted the tattooing traditions:
- Where the ocean was easily accessible and rich in resources (like in Samoa and Fiji), people considered it a second home, a giver of life, resulting in tattoos that were lighter and more symmetrical.
- Where the islands were steeper and fishing harder or more dangerous, it often led to inter-clan fighting. Tattoos were consequently darker, asymmetrical, and richer with war-related elements.
In Sikayana and Ontong tattoos, the designs seem to replicate the structure of the ocean surrounding the islands, being darker where the coast dives deeper and lighter where shallow waters and sand banks are found.
Traditional Yap tattoos. Multiple fish motifs seem to confirm the close relation between the tattoo and the ocean.
Waves: Change, Continuity, and Adversity
Waves, as a symbol of water and of the ocean, can represent change and continuity through change (like waves, which are never the same, yet never stop washing the shore rhythmically).
- Swimming or rowing against the waves can be hard, and opposing waves are used in Tahitian tattoos to show adversities.
- Favorable waves are symbols for positive changes.
Ocean as the Place of Rest and Travel
The ocean is also a place of rest. Maori believed that all of their dead left from the northernmost point of Aotearoa, Cape Reinga, back to Hawaiki, the land of their ancestors. On this account, waves can also symbolize the place of rest, voyage, and tradition.
Maori designs use a pattern called ngaru (waves) reproducing the ripples caused by the canoe cutting through water to symbolize speed and travel (Maori waves patterns).
Water/Wave Variants
Usage Examples
These waves going upward were used to symbolize striving for improvement:
Waves are the great protagonists of this tattoo prepared for a sailor. The central waves joined by the sky and a gourd (for winds) symbolize sailing:
This tattoo joins Polynesian-styled and Japanese-styled waves:
Waves were used here to design a triskell with sun-like rays around it and a bigger wave next to it shaping a koru:
You can click on the photos to read the full description of each tattoo.
