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Your monthly symbol is here: birds in Polynesian tattoos
Birds are a prominent symbol in Polynesian tattoos, and for quite some reasons
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So, it's that time of the month again--
Talking about our monthly symbol of course, no worries!
This month we take a look at birds and how they have an important role in Polynesian tattoos and culture, as usual with examples (you'll find everything in the article; we couldn't add more than a few paragraphs and images here not to blow up your email).
Wish you a great day, and an interesting reading,
GiErre
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manu: (Panpolynesian) m.
bird.
Manu is a common word in Polynesian languages to indicate birds.
Some specific representations have different names based on their characteristics and particular meaning.
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Birds are an ever present symbol in Polynesian tattoos, enjoying a prominent role in many traditions throughout the whole Pacific Ocean.
It's easy to understand why if we think that the observation of the migratory routes of some birds like the golden plover and the arctic tern inspired Polynesian navigators to embark on the oceanic voyages of exploration that led them to discover every land scattered throughout the whole Pacific area, reaching north to the Hawaii and possibly Canada, south-west to New Zealand and south-east to Chile. |
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Birds are seen as messengers and emissaries of the gods, often having divine powers themselves.
In Samoa the golden plover is considered an ancestor of humans: when the world was still only water and darkness, the golden plover was flying over it on a journey to explore this new world, until he got tired and asked for a place to rest. Tagaloa then threw some rocks, which became the land. There, when the bird pecked on a worm, breaking it into pieces, humans were born.
On this account a chevron pattern that resembles the legs of the plover, called
fa'avaetuli (like the plover's legs), is used to represent ancestors, while a zigzag symbol called
fa'aanufe (like the caterpillar) representing the chunks that the worm was split into, is used to represent people. |
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a shows the
fa'avaetuli motif and b shows two versions of the
fa'aanufe motif representing people. |
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Since the bird is common to all traditions, many different versions can be found depending on the style of choice. Some of them are collected in this month's article. Click the button below to read it! |
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More power! |
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