Samoan Tattoo Designs

The art of tattooing is an ancient practice. In fact, uncovered mummies show that it has been in practice for thousands of years already. So while the modern designs are also cool, it might be a good idea to revisit the old traditions to rediscover great body art ideas. One great find from the past are Samoan tattoo designs.
And when these ancient designs are combined with the modern equipments of today, and influenced by some modernization, the result can be a breathtaking tattoo design. And to help you understand better why Samoan tattoo designs are epic, here is a close look at its origin:
A Brief History
Samoan tattoo designs are believed to have been developed around 2,000 years ago in the lands of Polynesia. In the country, there resides an ancient ethnic group called Samoans which are known for their lust for tattooing. And for some reason, their heritage in body art survived until today.
According to the legend of the Samoan tribe, the art of tattooing was introduced to them by two women named Teama and Tilafaiga. And since then, it had flourished and became part of their culture and tradition. In the tribe, both men and women get the tattoo.

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The earliest tattoo in recorded history can be found in Egypt around the time of the building of the great pyramids, although without a doubt tattooing was practised as long ago as 12,000 BC. The art of tattooing spread rapidly with the expansion of the Egyptian Empire, with Crete, Greece, Arabia And Persia among many civilisations to pick up and expand the art form. Around 2000 BC it spread to China and eventually most of the world.

Tattoos were popular among many ethnic minorities in ancient Chinese times, But among the ethnic majority ( The Han Chinese ),Tattoos were mostly associated with criminals, bandits and gangsters, where these undesirables would be branded with a tattoo. In many other cultures tattoos were used to visibly mark or brand criminals, convicts, slaves or outcasts, and of course the most infamous use of tattoos for identification and degradation was by the Nazis against the Jews.

Tattoos have always played an important role in ritual and tradition. For Example: Rights of passage - A ritual marking a persons progress from one status to another. Ceremonies for puberty, Coming of age, Marriages and deaths. Religious ceremonies such as baptism or confirmation. Decorations for bravery. Talismans for protection, to name but a few.

Western tattooing has it's roots in Polynesia the "Tatau" having been discovered by eighteenth century explorers. The Tatau becoming a favourite adornment of European sailors before spreading to western societies in general. In fact many seafairers became tattooed to enable identification if they were unlucky enough to drown. So, many tattooists set up shop to practice their craft at sea ports where there was no shortage of customers. Tattooists still thrive in naval ports today as sailors in the royal Navy are quite partial to tattoos.

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