It was with great excitement that we accepted an invitation to attend Festival Tatau in Tahiti this fall. Tricia Allen has had a strong hand in the organization and promotion of this festival so when she said ‘Come’ we jumped at the opportunity.
The festival is held in Papeete,Tahiti, in an open air venue. Hot, yes, but with sea breezes from the ocean only a stone’s throw from the building. The promoters had done a fabulous job of setting the mood of the festival with fabulous palm leaves and local flora décor. There were the tattoo booths and also a number of local stone carvers, wood carvers, artists, black pearl vendors and other artisans. Every afternoon brought live entertainment of local dance, drums and music. The floor opened at 10 am with most tattooers already at work (before noon?? Imagine!) with most booths closing at 6 pm for the tattoo of the day event.
Dave was given a booth to help the local artists with their machines and power supplies. At first they were rather leary about that haole from Hawaii but after he fine tuned one of the leading tattooer’s machines he became quite the popular fella! From clipcord repair to machine adjustment it was a flurry of soldering irons, allen wrenches, and lots of machine part pictures drawn!! Language is not much of a barrier when you can sketch a machine part!
I was invited to observe and comment about their safety and hygiene. It was pleasantly surprising to see that these tattooers were practicing extremely good clean technique and were very aware of their responsibilities to their clients. I’d say on a 100 point scale these folks were at an 85! We had a few major gliches with the visiting tattooers from Europe though which was disappointing to say the least. A great deal of credit goes to the Polynesians for their awareness of contamination control and credit must also be given to Tricia who has traveled all over the Pacific Triangle with free ink caps, disposable tubes, barriers, etc. and educating along the way. It was evident that the tattooers at this festival were proud of their knowledge. They would see me watching them and as I gave a ‘thumbs up’ oh! the beautiful smiles I got back!
Tahitian tattooist, Vetea. Note his sleeve protection!
On Saturday night the venue closed early for the MAJOR EVENT. The visiting artists…those of us from outside the closer islands…all gathered on a Tahitian outrigger and we ‘came ashore’. Dressed in royal red lava lavas and pareos we were greeted by the local chiefs, inspected and then allowed to walk ashore.
The ceremony that followed is beyond pictures and most words. Raymond Graffe, tattooer and archeologist of the Pacific Museum on Tahiti, spoke at length in French and in Tahitian. The Minister of Culture spoke and said that tattooing had been pushed to the back burner of Tahitian culture but this event marked a change, a major change. He stood in recognition of the significance of the art to the islands and to their culture. While we might not understand his French/Tahitian words we certainly could understand the pride and the tears we saw in the faces and eyes of our Tahitian tattoo hosts. It was evident something BIG was happening. We had witnessed history being made in Tahiti and we were a part of it!
Of course this was all followed with a Tahitian food feast and…more drums and dancing!! Nothing like sitting front row to a Tahitian Haka answered by our Maori visitors with their Haka!! Powerful. most powerful! It just seemed too guache to take photos of this ceremony so forgive me. (unlike one of our eastern visitors who stood, smoked a cigarette, walked around snapping photos like the worst of tourists! Fer Pete’s sake, man, sit down!!)
Sunday the event carried on and we saw some tremendous pieces being done. The following picture is of a Tahitian getting a Japanese dragon….the entire tattoo was done with both client and tattooer STANDING UP. How long could you stand while having your chest pounded?? I watched this on and off for most of the day…6-7 hours at least. The Tahitian never pulled back, never winched. The tattooer took a number of breaks as it was killing his back but this ‘warrior’ showed his courage. We were in awe of him.
Could you take it? Vetea’s back was killing him!Competitions amounted to Tattoo of the Day. We saw incredible HUGE elegant Polynesian pieces executed in 6-8 hours. One comment that sticks in my mind is from Roonui who now tattoos in Montreal “Why are we competing against each other? We need to stand together, work together” (http://www.roonui-tattoo.com/)
As there is only one flight in and out per week from Tahiti to Hawaii we spent the next week on Moorea. Where there is Tricia there is always a gathering of local artists and we were introduced to a number of wonderful island tattooers. Dave was a hit (again) as he shared machine knowledge with Mata, Taniera, and their friends. The next day he spent all morning in Taniera’s shop working with him on machine functions. Taniera kindly asked if he could share the knowledge…how respectful he was!
Dave and Taniera on MooreaIt’s pretty amazing with Tricia…one minute you are in a grassroots shop out in the boonies and the next you are sitting down in a fine restaurant with the most brilliant anthropologists in French Polynesia! Traveling with her is a kaleidoscope of civilization!
Festival Tatau Tahiti is a gathering that touches your heart. You walk away changed and you start viewing tattooing with new eyes. It was quite an adventure and quite a lesson about the craft we choose. What they have in this festival is the most unique of gatherings….tattooing not just for art but for culture, for heritage and from the soul. As Tricia said, ‘they would rather tattoo than eat’.
This year’s recognition by the state will bring much attention to the craft and to the practioners. As our new friends Roonui and Mike say though “is it too much too fast?” With talk of MTV and the dreaded tattoo shows preying upon them I can only hope and pray that they keep it close to heart, close to pure Polynesia. They don’t need Hollywood.
What they have is deeper than that.....much deeper.
