Search 283 stories and 49 dives.

Tattooist tapping ink into a leg with a hand tool while others stretch the skin, Samoa

South Pacific

Cultural Marks of the South Pacific

December 2006

From August through December 2006, Amanda Fornal traveled through twenty islands in the South Pacific to study the history and cultural significance of body markings. She interviewed anthropologists, tattoo artists, cultural leaders, and people whose tattoos or scarification were connected to local traditions.

Her research and photography included work in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Rapa Nui, French Polynesia, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. The resulting archive documents tattooing, scarification, henna, and related traditions associated with identity, social status, rank, ceremony, family history, cultural affiliation, and personal expression.

In 2006, the Vanuatu Cultural Centre approved Amanda Fornal to conduct photographic research in Vanuatu. Her photographs documenting tattoos in the country were donated to the Vanuatu Cultural Centre.

The primary photographic archive is available through Blood & Ink.

Tattoos, Scarification, and Cultural Markings

Fiji

Samoa

Rapa Nui

French Polynesia

Solomon Islands

Vanuatu

Fiji

Samoa

Tonga

Cook Islands

Rapa Nui

French Polynesia

Solomon Islands

Vanuatu

Smiling shirtless man with a black tattoo curving from his neck across one shoulder
Profile of a man with a scrolled tattoo curling below and behind his ear
Gloved hands guiding a tattoo machine over inked skin beside a tattooed man in a blue cap
Hand and forearm covered in dense black tattoo motifs, down to the fingertips
Face, ear, neck and shoulder covered in dense black tattoo patterns, hair tied back
Man with folded arms, tattooed sleeves and a solid black band inked across one eye
Bold black band tattooed across the nape, above a necklace of curved white pendants
Bald man with fine-line facial tattoos, stretched black ear plugs and beaded necklaces
Swirling cheek tattoo and a large black spiral ear plug on a man in profile
Two hands resting on grass, heavy black patterns at the wrists and gothic letters on the fingers
Geometric black tattoo spreading across a hip above the waistband of camouflage shorts
Tattooed hands and forearms resting side by side on the back of a wooden chair
Man on a rocky shore in Samoa, thighs densely tattooed below a lavalava tucked up at the waist
Two men hold their lavalavas aside to show tattoos wrapping from waist to knee
Seen from behind, two men whose tattoo patterns run from the lower back down both thighs
Hands lifting a lavalava to reveal geometric tattoo work across the hips and thighs
Tattooist tapping ink into a leg with a hand tool while others stretch the skin, Samoa
Several pairs of hands steadying a tattooed leg around the tattooist's comb during a session
Hands stretch densely tattooed skin as the tapping tool rests in pooled black ink
Against a pale sky, a man stands with tattooed thighs beneath a blue floral lavalava
Fine dotted and diamond tattoo patterns down the backs of a woman's thighs and knees, Samoa
Elderly woman with pale curly hair sits in a woven chair, chest and arms marked with dark tattoos
Woman in profile in the Solomon Islands, a raised curved scar looping across her cheek
Row of small chevron marks tattooed across a woman's cheek and temple, Solomon Islands
Young woman with sun-lightened curls and circular markings across both cheeks, Solomon Islands
Dark geometric tattoos banding the forearm of a seated woman working a strip of yellow fibre
Smiling woman with fine dotted markings on her cheeks and a zigzag line across her chin
Elderly woman with tattooed chest and arms, holding a tall pole in the shade of a tree
Tattooed elder working a weighted pump drill as a small child watches beside her
Boy with a white U-shaped mark drawn on his cheek, grinning and looking away
Tattooed hands steadying a child's head while a pointed stick traces a white mark on her cheek
Close view of a needle-like stick marking a laughing child's temple above a fresh white outline
Elderly woman in a striped blouse, small dark tattoos beneath each eye, Vanuatu
Laughing elder with pale curls and a faded tattoo on her cheek

Related Stories

Queenstown | Tāhuna and Lake Whakatipu

New Zealand

Queenstown | Tāhuna and Lake Whakatipu

Jun 2015

Fiordland National Park from the Air

Fiordland National Park

Fiordland National Park from the Air

Jun 2015

Mountain Landscapes Around Queenstown

New Zealand

Mountain Landscapes Around Queenstown

Jun 2015

All Stories →

Fact check: Accuracy matters. If something looks incorrect, please suggest a correction.