Tribal Tattoo Designs and History: Polynesian, Tahitian, Maori, Celtic, Egyptian, Japanese, Hawaiian

What’s cooler than an exceptional piece of tribal tattoo art? Not much! No meaningless colors, no meaningless images, just purely symbolic, subconscious. tribal communicated to the world!

Now, you don’t have to belong to a traditional tribe for your tribal tattoo to mean something, in fact we all are tribe members of some kind; just think about the subculture (hip hop, grunge, rock, etc.). I doubt you’ll find a bunch of die-hard rock fans each with pretty flower tattoos or hardened US convicts with pink fairies! Do you understand the drift? So with that in mind, let’s go over some of the original tribal tattoo types and a brief history to help you form a foundation for your next tattoo design.

Polynesian tribal tattoos (Tahitians):

These tattoos were central to their culture, as they had no written language as we know it. Social status, family, and position were the main messages conveyed by their intricate designs and rituals around them.

The tools used were a comb with needles usually made of bone attached to a handle. Needles were placed in the ink (made from water, oil, and candlenut soot, eg coal), then against the chosen physical location and struck on the back, piercing the skin and injecting the ink. The noise that is made from this is where the name “tattoo” is born, or “tatau” as the Polynesians (Tahitians) would say, or even “Tattow”, as Captain James Cook later nicknamed him.

Celtic Tribal Tattoos:

The Celts, once a dominant force in what we know as Europe, were slowly and violently pushed northwest by the Romans, the Angles, and the Saxons. Celtic culture is rich in history and legends, but again, as there was no classical written language, tattoos were required to convey social messages.

Celtic tattoos are often known for their intricate knotwork, interlocking patterns, spirals, and animals. Deeply spiritual in meaning and significance, the interwoven patterns and organic spirals indicate an endless flow to the world as they saw it. Today most commonly used as cultural and heritage markers (Scottish, Irish and some Welsh), Celtic bands. They present the most and are very attractive designs with a meaning put into where Celtic tattoo design is placed

Maori tribal tattoos:

“Ta Moko, the process”, “Moko, the product”.

There is an old New Zealand story of how tattoos were made for the Maori, which begins with a relationship between a man (Mataora) and an underworld princess (Niwareka). Mataora, deeply saddened and remorseful for his actions, set out to win back his lover and then embarks on an epic journey to the Uetonga underworld, brought back to the land of men, along with Mataora!

Used primarily to mark male status and rights-of-way, tools and techniques similar to those of the Polynesians (Tahitians) were used; in fact, it is widely believed that early Polynesians first brought the art to New Zealand.

Other great tattoo civilizations:

• egyptian tattoos – Just as they did, their techniques spread throughout the known world.
• japanese tattoos – Deeply ritualized and formal, it certainly had more to do with honor than visual symbolism.
• hawaiian tattoos – Culturally and geographically so close to Tahiti, history is too similar to repeat here, but just know that the artworks differed over time.