Tribal Tattoos Design

The inspiration for tribal tattoos comes from the Pacific Rim and Asia , most commonly in countries such as New Zealand , Samoa and Hawaii . These tattoos were made from Polynesian patterns and would be applied during large ceremonies that represented a significant step in a person's life.


The basic design of a tribal tattoo would be black markings on the skin, a certain tribe or culture can often be defined by the distinctive patterns. For example, a Hawaiian tribal tattoo would be made up of smaller shapes.

The importance of a tattoo to these tribes should not be underestimated, in a time before electric tattoo machines; it would take a long time and be extremely painful to have a tribal tattoo applied. For those not able to stand the pain of their rights of passage, they would have to live with the shame for the rest of their lives and most likely lost respect from the rest of their tribe.