Showing posts with label Chest Tattoos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chest Tattoos. Show all posts

Cool Tattoos Pictures

Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos
Cool Tattoos

Hawaiian Tattoos

Hawaiian tattoos and body art have a history of thousands of years and experience a renewed popularity since the 90s, together with other tribal tattoo styles. Aloha!


There’s more to Hawaii than flowers and leis, after all – the Hawaiian islands are part of a larger chain, the Polynesian Islands, which include other island cultures such as the Maori and the Samoan, tribal communities with a rich tattoo tradition.

Tribal Hawaiian arm tattoo
All of these cultures were famous for their tattoo art. Modern tribal tattoos are based on the traditional tattoo art of the Polynesian islands, and Hawaiian arm tattoos represent both the popular culture of Hawaii and the older tribal traditions.

In a sense, it’s natural that Hawaiian tattoos are so popular right now. Other Hawaiian designs and styles – like Hawaiian shirts – have had their day and currently have a strong retro appeal. Hawaiian arm tattoos are also a manifestation of the resurgence of ‘Tiki’ culture, so popular in the 1950s and 60s.

Hawaiian Tribal Tattoos
Tattooing was an important aspect of the Hawaiian culture, just like anywhere on the Polynesian islands. The Hawaiians even have tattoo gods and each time a member of the community gets a tattoo, prayers had to be done in the temple.

Hawaiian tribal tattoo art, known as Kakau, has been practiced for thousands of years and for a variety of purposes:
* Personal identification: unlike other Polynesian tattoo styles, Hawaiian tattoos are used for personal identification (instead of ceremonial purposes).
* Talisman: tattoos were believed to offer protection.
* As a symbol of mourning for a loved one.
* Adornment

Kukui Nuts, Used in Hawaiian Tattoo Ink

The Hawaiian tribal tattoos were mostly black, the tattoo ink was made of a mixture of kukui nuts and sugarcane juice.

Getting a tattoo in a tribal community was not a very pleasant occasion, modern tattoo equipment was not part of tribal life. Instead they used sharp and pointy parts of animals, like bird beaks and claws, that were connected to a branch and hit with a mallet.

The Hawaiian tattoo designs are larger compared to other Polynesian designs, and bolder as well. Typical Hawaiian tattoo designs include:
* Lizards: the Hawaiians had a great respect and fear for lizards.
* Sea turtle tattoos
* Dolphins
* Tropical flowers
* Arrows

Typical spots for tribal Hawaiian tattoos:
* Male: the legs, arms, face and torso
* Female: the hands, wrist and tongue

In the beginning of the 19th century, when European settlers arrived in Hawaii, the art of the Hawaiian tattoo slowly vanished until its renaissance in the 20th century.

Hawaiian Tattoos

Hawaiian Tattoos

Hawaiian Tattoos

Hawaiian Tattoos

Hawaiian Tattoos

Heart Tattoo Designs

Here are some dimensional heart designed tattoos. Hearts are popular tattoos for lovers and the love-lost as well as for cardiologists. Good to wear your (tattooed) heart on your sleeve or on your chest. Add in a name (Mom) or put a banner below one of these designs.

Heart and Love Tattoos
Heart and Love Tattoos
Heart and Love Tattoos
Heart and Love Tattoos
Heart and Love Tattoos
Heart and Love Tattoos
Heart and Love Tattoos
Heart and Love Tattoos

Polynesian Tattoos

Polynesian tattoos are an ancient art that has been receiving a lot of attention in modern times. Though few of us who are not from the Polynesian islands would be willing to undergo the painful and lengthy procedure that real Polynesian tattoos necessitate, we might well be attracted to elements of the traditional tribal designs and wish to incorporate them into our own tattoos – using modern methods (most of us anyway).

Hawaiian face tattoo
The people of the Polynesian islands have evolved their own distinct culture over hundreds, even thousands of years. Though there are many islands in this area, the people all came from a common homeland – though no one is exactly sure where this might have been, or when they came or how.

Polynesia is a group of islands spread over the Pacific Ocean (over 1000; Polynesia is the Greek word for many islands). The Marquesa islands are probably where the Polynesian people came to first and they later spread to:
* New Zealand: Aotearoa (Maori for NZ) is where the Maori people live. Tattoo art or Ta Moko as they call it, is a very important aspect of their culture. Discover all about Maori Tattoos here
* Hawaii: Hawaiian tattoo designs are distinct from other Polynesian tattoos in that sense that they have a more personal meaning. Popular today are Hawaiian flowers, turtles and abstract tribals.

Hawaiian tattoos
* Easter Island (Rapa Nui): the tattoo designs of the inhabitants of the Easter Island have a huge variety: stylized boats, vaginas, spears, birds, geometrical patterns, .... Women and men had a combination of bold lines and dots on their forehead, from one ear to the other. The tattoos made their skin sacred and enabled them to communicate with the gods.
* Samoa: Samoan tattoos are generally very large and denote the social status and rank of the man or woman who wears it.
* Tonga: the Tongan tattoo is similar to the Samoan tattoo.
* The Cook Islands: the tattoo designs of the Cook Islands were spread over the entire body. Each tribe had its own tattoo sign.
* French Polynesia (Tahiti): traditionally, only people of a high social ranking had tattoos. Tahitian tattoos covered the whole body, except the face. Women as well as men were tattooed. The women were tattooed at a very young age. Later they are tattooed again when they reach sexual maturity. When they desired a man, they would show their tattoos by lifting their skirts.
* The Marquesa Islands: a group of islands in French Polynesia with a deeply rooted tattoo tradition. The people of the Marquesa islands were the most heavily tattooed of all the Polynesian tribes.
* Several other islands which now house distinct ethnic groups.

Though they are distinct, a lot of cultural similarities remain. For example, practically all of these people practice the art of tattooing, and they do so in startlingly similar ways. Tattoo art was very important in the Polynesian culture. Because they had no written language, tattoos were used to depict social status, family history and spirituality.
The Motives For Polynesian Tattoos

Here are some of the reasons the Polynesian people had tattoos:
* The tattoos were a symbol of courage. The tattoo process was very painful and a lot of perseverance was needed to endure the long tattoo sessions.
* Getting the first tattoo marks the transition between childhood and adulthood. It is a rite of passage.
* Tattoos added to the sexual attractiveness of a man.
* Tattoos offered protection, they were a talisman.
* Polynesian tattoos read like a book. By looking at a tattoo, insiders get to know the social status and rank of the tattooed person.


Polynesian tattoos

Polynesian tattoos

Polynesian tattoos

Polynesian tattoos