Tatz - Ku'ualoha Ho'omanawanui

Ku'ualoha Ho'omanawanui was born in Hawai’i, Kailua, O’ahu. She is a graduate of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She grew up in Wailua Homesteads, Kaua’i. Ho’omanawanui is a published poet and an assistant professor of Hawaiin literature in the English Department at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She is a founder and current chief editor of ‘Oiwi: A Native Hawaiian Journal.’

The poem is written in a mixture of both English and Hawaiian Pidgin which I found interesting as many Pacific poems are written in English with a translation of Pidgin English alongside it. This represents the majority of people in Hawai’i who speak a mixture of both languages and mix words/phrases and sentences into their daily spoken language.

Tattooing is a tradition that is still often practiced in many Pacific Nations. Although traditional tattooing is practiced among a variety of peoples throughout time and space, nowhere in the world has it been as important to the cultural heritage of a people as in the Pacific Islands of Oceania. According to legends, the practice is an ancient custom. Unfortunately, as with many non-Western societies, there are no local histories of this practice so the origins of tattooing in the Pacific can’t be known for certain.

As stated in the analysis of ‘Kros’ Western influences have impinged on Pacific traditions and have altered them by their teachings and western ideologies in the Pacific. The practice of tattooing in particular has changed in accordance to Western believes of the tattoos being ‘inappropriate’ and ‘immoral’. Niue is one country that doesn’t practice tattooing any longer as Niue identifies itself as a Christian nation, and tattooing goes against Christian beliefs as the Bible states in Leviticus 19:28, ‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the Lord.’

Although the islands of Samoa also identifies as a Christian country, tattooing is still regularly practiced today and remains a big part of the Samoan culture. A Samoan males’ traditional tattoo is called a Pe’a which usually covers the circumference of his body as high as the belly button down to his knees or thighs which consists of Pacific designs in black coloured ink and imprinted on the skin with traditional tools. A Samoan woman’s tattoos called the Malu which usually covers the legs from just below the knee to the upper thighs. A with Samoa tattooing in Hawai’i is also commonly practiced. Men are tattooed more heavily that women, with designs on their bodies and limbs. Hawaiian woman were primarily tattooed in their lower arms and hands, and sometimes as a sign of mourning, on their tongues. Modern designs are becoming more popular in the Pacific, with pictures such as flowers and written text being incorporated in to tattoos. Overall, many Pacific Islands continue to express their genealogy through tattoos. Tattooing is still a strong part of Pacific heritage that many Islands continue to practice today.