"I live in Hawaii, purchased many Polynesian design books in the past but, this one is the best so far. Very extensive in defining Polynesian symbols & placement. Love it!"
Catana Padilla
Hawaii
"This is such a well thought out and reverent book, well deserved of the sacred art form and important root of our Polynesian culture. I feel blessed to have found it, I learned so much!!"
Kerissa Savea
Hawaii
"I gave this book as a gift to an artist. She loves it and shared that the book really opened up her mind to the culture and appreciation for the lifestyle and expression of the Polynesian and South Pacific Island peoples and their art."
Chiqui's Mom
USA
"Interesting read with history and insight into tattoo origins of Polynesian people groups! I recently got a Marquesan tattoo and wanted to learn more about the symbols. This book helped me to understand the various design concepts."
BeeBee
USA
Remember: true Polynesian tattoos tell stories and you too could have your own personal tattoo, as unique as your story.
And if you get a Polynesian tattoo, wouldn't you like to know if it really tells your story, if the elements are correct?
Wouldn't you like to understand the symbols and see them "come to life" under your eyes?
featuring lists of symbols and their meanings, a quick reference dictionary, explained examples, and so much more!
Symbols are paired with their most common variants, and real tattoos are deconstructed and explained down to their foundational elements.
Vol. 1 lists the most common symbols and Vol. 2 is an in depth study of Samoan, Marquesan, Tahitian, Hawaiian and Maori tattoos.
Yes, and no.
Polynesian tattoos basically use two kind of symbols and patterns: some of them are considered tapu, which means "sacred", while others are considered noa, or "common, not sacred".
Tapu elements should only be used by people who are entitled to them by family and descent, after proper ceremonies are held, while everyone else should only use noa elements for their tattoos.
All of the elements in our books and course are noa, which means that you can use them all without fear of including symbols that you are not allowed to wear.
No, and yes.
It depends on how you approach Polynesian art and, ultimately, culture. Plain copying someone else's tattoo is always disrespectful, because you are stealing their own story. This values for Polynesian tattoos as well as for any other.
Creating a Polynesian tattoo that tells your own story and being able to say what it represents shows that you acknowledge and respect the importance of such tattoo and therefore it is not seen as disrespectful. It shows your appreciation and admiration for Polynesian art and culture.
Remember: a Polynesian tattoo is never just a nice design.!
They're intended for all levels.
While Vol. 1 is a comprehensive introduction to Polynesian tattoos, their basics, meanings, positioning, and creation process, Vol. 2 explains further the process, purpose, main styles and origins, adding over 400 symbols and variants.
"Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I have been searching the whole net to find something like this!"
Paul Davies
WA
"This is a must have for tattoo artist that plan on doing polynesian tattoos. You really need to know what the symbols mean before you put ink on anyone. Not to mention it's just plain respect for the history and art of tattooing."
C.W.
USA
"I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking forward to creating a spectacular tattoo design - either for yourself, or your friends."
Poulomi
Kolkata
"Now I know what my next tattoo will look like! Thank you!"
Jon
Shanghai
"I have purchased other books, this one takes the cake! Highly recommend it."
Colleen Redding
Amazon
"I am fascinated by the culture of the Polynesian Islands and want to incorporate the meanings, beliefs, and myths behind their tattoos into a tatoo design for myself. This book was easy to read, provided great visuals, and simply and concisely gave me quick insight into the deep and profound meanings that this culture and it's people put into their tattoo designs. Highly recommended for anyone who does not know much about Polynesian tattoos and wants to know more."
Lauren
USA
"I'll be getting a poly-tat soon and was looking for some ideas to design my own. Some of my family is from the Melanesian islands, in particular Fiji and papua New guinea. As its hard to find traditional designs from these islands unless I go there, I am settling for some common oceanic tribal designs to create my tattoo. This book was extremely helpful and will guide me with creating my own unique life story telling tattoo."
Alina Hart
USA
"This book is presented in an easy to read format with great graphics.It's all in the details and this book explains the meanings."
Carlotta Farris
Amazon
"Good follow up to the first volume. For artists who want to do some justice to cultural significance in regards to polynesian, marquesian, etc."
Patrick Dearman
USA
"I wanted to get accurate information about Polynesian tattoos since I was planning to get one. The information in this book is very detailed, explains the differences between styles, the meaning behind various symbols and gives examples of tattoos. It was so interesting that I looked them up online and browsed their website for more designs and infos.[...]Thank you to the team of Tattoo Tribes for this excellent service! Highly recommended."
Raven
Germany
"Lots of detail about each style of tattooing. Explains origins and of course meanings behind the images."
James R. Anderson
USA
Roberto Gemori has studied Polynesian art and symbolism for over twenty years. His designs are published on TattooTribes.com and appear in specialized magazines.
When not designing, he writes books on Polynesian tattoos to foster understanding and appreciation of this ancient and fascinating form of art, and his books The Polynesian Tattoo Handbook 1 & 2 have become a resource often quoted as the single most complete reference on this subject.
© TattooTribes 2024
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