Tongan Tattoo

The tradition of tattooing in Tonga was abandoned soon after European contact and the arrival of missionaries. At one time, nearly all Tongan males would have worn tattoos very similar to the pea, or traditional tattoo worn by Samoan men. Women were tattoooed as well in ancient Tonga, however the designs were limited to the arms and the inside of the hands and fingers. Tattooing was officially outlawed in 1838. Today, few Tongans even realize that their ancestors bore tattoos-- not only has the art been lost over the past two centuries, but even the knowledge of it is gone as well. Tongas story is interesting, and quite different from the other Island groups in Polynesia, as Tonga has always remained independent. It seems Tongans were amazingly smart. Very soon after European contact Tongans styled their own monarchy after that of their visitors. They retained their own land and rule, and readily adopted Christianity. Although they retained many aspects of their traditional culture, other aspects have been lost entirely; lost even in the memories of the last elders. Knowledge of the old gods, the ancient religion, and the tattoo are gone forever. Fortunately one of the early French explorers, Dumont dUrville included a detailed illustration of a Tongan mans tattoo in his journal. If it were not for this drawing we would know little about the appearance of the tattoo in Tonga. There are brief descriptions of tattooing found in other explorers journals, and a short article published in 1900 by H. Ling Roth, but little else was recorded or written on the Tongan tattoo.

The mans tattoo in Tonga was done in the same manner as the Samoan tattoo. The tool itself was a sharpened comb, made of either bone or shell. This was hafted onto a wooden handle. A second wooden tool served as a mallet, tapping the primary tool repeatedly, driving the comb into the skin. The pigment was soot collected from burning candlenut, a nut with a flameable oil. The soot was then mixed with either water or a fat until it reached the desired consistancy. The process of tatttooing in ancient Tonga was a long and painful one, particularly considering the amount of heavy black coverage in the tattoo. It was definately a mark of manhood.

Interview with Aisea Toetuu

For the past ten years, my life has revolved around Polynesian tattooing. During this time I have only encountered two Tongan tattooists. In fact, most Tongans today are totally unaware of the fact that Tongans at one time were as heavily tattooed as most other Polynesians. One young tattooist, Aisea Toetuu is working hard to change that. He is the first one in nearly 200 years to wear the traditional Tongan tattoo. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Aisea is that he did the tattoo himself using traditional tools. He tapped the design into his own skin and taught his young wife to tattoo so that she could complete his backside.

TA: Aisea, what is your background? Where are you from?

A: I was born in Hawaii in 1974. I am of Tongan and Hawaiian ancestry. My father is pure Tongan and is from the Islands and my mother is local, born here in Hawaii, so I am half Tongan. I grew up here on Oahu, Hawaii.

TA: And when & how did your interest in Tongan culture & tattooing come about?

A: I've always been interested in Polynesian history. I grew up in Tongan culture and my first language was Tongan.

TA: What made you decide to wear the traditional tattoo?

A: When I was a young teenager I wanted American & gang style tattoos, like a lot of the young Tongans & Samoans were wearing. Then one day I was looking through a book about Polynesia and saw the drawing of the Tongan man's tattoo (the drawing by d'Urville), then I knew I wanted to wear it. I got more interested in the culture in general and got more involved with traditional Tongan dance, and was inspired to do more research. I started questioning my relatives, most of them knew nothing about it, but then my grandmother told me that my grandfather was one of the last men to wear the tattoo. I few of the older people I talked to remembered seeing it as children. My grandfather used to work in his garden wearing a malo (traditional loincloth). But really, ever since the time I saw that drawing, I wanted that tattoo. It was like a part of our culture that was dead and I had a chance of reviving it.

TA: And when did you start your tattoo?

A: When I was 15 I made tools based on the Samoan traditional tattoo tools I had seen. I used sewing needles attached with epoxy onto a piece of copper. All I could think of to use to attach it to the dowel or handle was a smalll automotive hose clamp, so I used that.

TA: Its difficult enough to tattoo yourself with a machine! Wasnt it extremely painful? And how did you stretch the skin? I have one Hawaiian friend that uses traditional tools & stretches his skin with duct tape, how about you?

A: I stretched my skin with one hand & tattooed with the other. My wife, Leiomi helped me stretch sometimes and she tattooed the places I couldn't reach. It wasn't too painfull, except on the inner thigh.

TA: How much did you get done with the traditional tools? And when did you start using a machine?

A: I only did the lower part with the traditional style tools. Then I bought my first machine when I was still in high school. I was 17. And did the rest by machine. Leiomi did my backside. My left leg is now about half finished. I still have a lot of black to fill in. Then I'll finish my right leg. My goal is to finish it by this May. This summer I'm going to my first tattoo convention, the one in Canada just North of Toronto, and I'd like to have it finished by then. I'm excited-- I've never been to Canada!

TA: How has your family reacted to your doing the tattoo?

A: First, my family is large, my dad came from a family with 15 children. Many are against it & think it's stupid, but that's largely the Christian influence. My parents are always supportive and my grandmother is proud that I'm bringing back part of our family's past. And a lot of Tongans are reallly interested in getting it now!

TA: Have you done any others?

A: No, not yet, I have to finish mine first.

TA: But you are tattooing others in your community, what type of tattoos do you mostly do?

A: Right now arm bands are the most popular. Although the band itself isn't traditional, I'm using traditional designs from Tapa (barkcloth) and other sources to create the bands. On women I do a lot of ankle bands and turtles and things. It's pretty popular.

TA: Well keep up the good work & good luck finishing your tattoo!