Filipinx and Polynesian Tattooing and It's Place in Diaspora

Our study critically looks into the meaning and significance of tattoos within the Filipino and Polynesian communities as used in the past in juxtaposition to how tattoos are used today and its new meanings. Polynesian tattoos are a style of tattooing that originated in the Polynesian Islands (Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, and etc) hundreds of years ago. Polynesian tattoos consist of bold, geometric patterns, and symbols that represent important cultural values and beliefs. Filipino tattoos originate from the Philippines dating back before colonialism. It consists of intricate designs and patterns that tell a story or reflect the wearer’s social status. People today wear tattoos largely for decoration purposes which means that most tattoos lose their meanings and purposes over time. In addition, it is not justified that society today has been looking cynically at people wearing tattoos, without understanding what the tattoo means to individuals and the individual’s culture. We hope that our project will help others understand the differences of tattoos in the two communities over time and bring solidarity within these communities. Our research question is determining the role tattoos play in cultivating identity within Filipinx and Polynesain diasporic communities in the Bay area. We will visit different tattoo artists across the Bay Area and get their perspectives on contemporary Filipino and Polynesian tattoos. We want to know their thoughts on how Filipino and Polynesian tattoos changed (physically and socially) as it migrated from its homeland to California. Our timeline to complete this project was April 17th-April 21st.

Methodology

Our Questions:

How does the practice of Tattooing within Polynesian and Filipinx diasporic communities in California’s bay area cultivate culture and identity in the lives of tattoo practitioners? 

What are the implications of these practices on the identities of those who receive them? 

When did these practices begin in these areas and how have they influenced the urban landscape of the bay? (The media produced, idea of Pacific Islander-ness/Filipinxness within the diaspora context)

Do tattoos become a means of reclamation, appropriation?

Rooted in the Pasifika epistemology of Talanoa or storytelling, we hope to utilize this methodology to ground our research framework. Talanoa is widely used around the Pacific region as a blanket term to describe intimate conversation where stories are exchanged in order to cultivate relationality among community members. We hope to hone in our research endeavors to the bay area, an area with both notable Filipinx and Pacific Islander populations where each of these groups have built long standing legacies away from their homelands through the careful practice of tattooing. We intend to visit various Filipinx and Polynesian tattoo shops and speak with artists who specialize in these practices. We aim to ask them about how the exercise of tattooing and storytelling through tattoos has helped them connect with their heritage and has fostered a sense of belonging and community within their own life. After transcribing each of the interviews we seek to weave together common themes of diaspora, cultural reclamation and storytelling in order to better understand the landscape of Pacific Islander-ness and Filipinx-ness in urban metropolises like the bay. We also hope to reflect on how our interpretations and identities as both Filipinos and Pacific Islanders can learn from these practices to continue forging and sustaining our connection to our motherlands while living in the U.S.

Significance

This project is important because it fosters cultural awareness. The majority of people today are not familiar with the origins of tattooing. For Filipinx and Polynesian cultures, tattoos have served as profound cultural markers for centuries, surviving cultural genocide and stigmatization. With the passage of time and influence of globalization, the cultural practice of tattooing has undergone significant transformation, and tattoos hold new meanings for various people. While this is not an inherently negative process, it is important to remember and honor the people and cultures that first breathed life and significance into tattoos. Additionally, this project is deeply important to Filipinx and Polynesian people, especially those who have immigrated to a different country and face the challenges of a new living context. Immigrants often foster cultural practices as a way to build community and solidarity. Through interviews with tattoo artists, we hope to understand the role of cultural tattoos in cultivating identity within diasporic communities.

Academic Findings

Most of our Academic findings were done through interviews in public, a practice we cultivated as we wanted to get an authentic view of tattoo culture in San Francisco and it's intersections within the Polynesian and Filipinx community. This caused a lot of improptu conversations about tattooing and diaspora.

One of our interviews included a lady who worked in a shoe shop who asked us if we participated in Merrie Monarch, an annual hula competition within the Hawaiian Islands. We talked about her own involvement in a Hālau, hula group, and how it allowed her to have insight on Polynesian culture. She said that in her Hālau, the leader did not allow anyone, both men and women, to get tattoos, even if they were cultural. This began a conversation between us where we considered if this was due to the distance from the Islands or if this was a cultural practice the Hālau leader had learned.

Another interview we conducted was done in the midst of a Cherry Blossom Festival, families pooling together to celebrate each other. When we walked in, we were greeted to a Hālau, and were happy to see our culture displayed so prominently on a stage in the midst of a cultural festival. We saw a family with tribal on their arms and approached them.

The family was hesitant at first, but became less wary when they were shown Polynesian tattoos and explained that we wished to interview them as we were doing a school funded project.

The man and his family are Filipino and visited Hawai'i regularly which is why they have multiple Polynesian tattoos. They said they thought the culture was beautiful and got the tattoos to carry the culture with them. They also have their family's name on their right arm and said their entire family got them tattooed.

We interviewed a father who was with his family at the Cherry Blossom festival. He is Filipino and is from Hawaii. His tattoo is a Filipino contemporary tribal tattoo. We asked him his experienced of getting his tattoo. He wanted to get his tattoo because it brings him "back to his roots" or closer to his culture. We also had an interesting conversation about the positionality and intersectionality of Filipinos who are from the Pacific diaspora like Hawaii.

We asked them what were their thoughts of people who grew up in Hawaii but do not identify as Pacific Islander and they have Polynesian tribal tattoos. We asked them if this is an example of cultural appropriation. The man's son who is Filipino and Hawaiian said that this a big controversy. The son believes that this is cultural appropriation because most of the time people are getting these tattoos because it is the "trend" and do not know the historical significance or meaning of these Polynesian tribal tattoos. Another point that the son made is that people who are getting these Polynesian tribal tattoos are mostly not Pacific Islander and are not from this background which convinces him that this is cultural appropriation. But the dad of the son believes that we should not stress or worry about if a person who has Polynesian tribal tattoos is Pacific Islander or not because the individual may be mixed or have some Pacific Islander in them but do not look Pacific Islander. The dad believes that people who are getting these traditional tattoos should really reflect and learn about the significance of these tattoos because the tattoos will stay on their body's forever and they will always carry this responsibility with them their whole lives. "It is their Kuleana, not ours,".

In our group, we talked about the logistics of having a tattoo of other's cultures and decided to ask a tattoo artist about their thoughts.

We also talked to Tito Gavina, an artist who does Japanese and Filipino tattoos. He works in the Bay Area and says there is a collective of Filipinos who are fighting to grasp their culture back. He often travels to the Phillipines to do a lot of reconnecting as well.

Tito told us about Soul Signature, a tattoo place within the Hawaiian islands that is branching out to the mainland. In Soul Signature, they are helping to push the Filipino aspect of tattooing and pushing to elevate and understand elements of the practice. To Tito, it was important to see a Filipino owner of a tattoo shop as much as it was to see Filipino tattoo artists.

"If you can see it, you can do it too."

Tito states that within the tattoo community, there is an evolution in how tattoos are being percieved. In the Polynesian community, they are no longer only tattooing traditionally by tapping, but creating new styles like the "New Tribal."

Tito states that tattooing is different in the modern age. In the past, tattoos were earned through war by taking someone's head, nowadays, tattoos are earned by climbing a mountain in the Phillipines. For Filipinos who have been pushed all around the world, spreading awareness of Filipino culture is important to teach and educate.

Tito says San Francisco's relationship with cultural tattoos is all expanding and that when they designs tattoos for people, he makes it fit the person. Tattoos in nature build community. All of his clients feel the same way about tattoos. In his style of tattooing, he takes a lot of influence from Irizumi, a Japanese way of tattooing that tells a story, implementing Filipino bases. He reiterates that it's all about the story and making sure it connects with the people as well.

When it comes to people tattooing others' cultural tattoos on their skin, he says he hasn't had to do that yet. His clients don't typically ask to do something that isn't based on them. Nowadays, anyone gets tribal. For clients who are Filipino however, he makes sure the tattoo is Filipino.

Tito thinks that depending on who you ask, traditionalists will say its wrong, but depending on where you are around the world, the opinion is different. Tito thinks no one owns tattooing but it comes with respect and knowing that the tattooing is sacred. If the artist does not know what they are tattooing on someone, why are they tattooing it?

"When someone is intentional about getting a cultural tattoo, it could change that person, there may be a spirit in that tattoo that changes who they are."

You go through the pain. You still have to earn it. You can't make someone feel bad about something and they go under. The pain is part of the journey.

Personal Impact

Seeing Filipino and Polynesian influence in San Francisco was an experience we will cherish for the rest of our lives. We woke up each day excited to explore the city and learn more about the inhabitants and the past and present that cultivated the San Francisco we know today.

We were pleasantly surprised how normalized diversity was, especially in comparison to Colorado Springs. We saw Filipino and Polynesian influence everywhere. For example, we say Filipino and Polynesian translations on signs and buildings everywhere which is something we usually do not see often.

We also enjoyed learning more about Asian American culture and experience through food in San Francisco. We were able to learn more about Asian American culture when we visited Chinatown, the Cherry Blossom Festival, and talking to civilians who identify as Asian American. We also learned how Asian American food is a representation of survival and resistance. We reflected how food is more than a material object but is a cultural object that plays a role in understanding how diasporic Asian and Pacific Islander belonging have been constructed socially, politically, historically, and economically in relation to food.

At the end of this trip, we, as a mix of Filipinas and Polynesians felt settled into the Bay Area. In Colorado Springs, it is easy to feel lost especially when considering diaspora. Our faces are often not a familiar face, but as we walked through the streets of San Francisco, we felt seen.

We were also able to begin multiple conversations within diaspora. When is it appropriate to wear a cultural tattoo? Is it appropriate to where other cultures' tattoos? Where does the line between appropriation and appreciation begin and end? How does place alter one's perception on whether or not they wish to have tattoos to begin with? How does one connect to their history and ancestry when they do not have access? How can one cultivate a sense of place acknowledging history simultaneously? All these questions bubbled between us as we sought to find ourselves in the landscape of San Francisco.

Next Steps

As we are planning on getting our own Filipino and Polynesian traditional tattoos, we want to use the lessons that we learn from our venture grant experience to make sure that we are being intentional and keeping ourselves accountable. It is our responsibility to reflect what these traditional tattoos mean to us and our culture.

It was so interesting to learn about the Asian American culture through tattoos and food in the Bay area. Therefore, we want to also learn more about Pacific Islander experience, survival, and resistance in the Bay area. We want to explore more of the Bay area to interview more Pacific Islanders because we were told that most of the Pacific Islanders are living in other parts of San Francisco like Daly City. We also want to connect with Pacific Islander affinity groups at other universities and colleges so we can have more discussions on the Pacific Islander experience in the US. We can all learn from each other and bring back this knowledge from these Pacific Islander affinity groups to Colorado College.