Ta tatau (tattoo) by Emma Kruse Va’ai, follows on a short narrative told by an eight-year-old Samoan girl. The young girl witnesses her father (Manu) have a complicated tattoo in the name of tradition. As illustrated in the short story, the traditional tattoo is of great significance to the Samoa people and is considered as a conventional practice. Moreover, it is marked as an essential part of their culture, and a ritual that also binds families together. The short narrative revolves around the young girl 's father getting tattooed revealing the Samoan culture as the story attains momentum. Ideally, the Samoan girl describes the tattoo in her father’s body as ink patterns that make a visible process that appears natural as the symbol completes. …show more content…
The tattooing ritual had much more significance in the village than in the city life, following the conflict that erupted between the girl’s parents. Moreover, living in town limited the family’s exposure to the ‘Ta tatau’ culture causing them to lack essential elements to take care of a tattooed subject successfully (Ellis, 2006). As illustrate by the girl in the narrative, due to their adoption of their European way of life their house wasn’t cold enough for their father’s condition forcing him to relocate to the village. In close contemplation of these remarks, it can be derived that the houses in the village were cooler than the houses built in the …show more content…
In that light, the story identity’s all the essential factors constituted in the Samoan Ta tatau ritual in culturally specific manner (Stead, 2016). As illustrated by the narrator in the story, the father’s tattooed body portrays detailed and intriguing markings of the Samoan culture. Her profound description of the perfect symmetrical markings on the father’s body reveals the incredible culture of the Samoan people that had people endure the pain. Through the young girl’s curiosity, the author explains to the author the significance of the tattoos as part of the culture describing the kind of pain that the subjects went through while getting tattooed (Va‘ai, 1980). Additionally, the author also assimilated the Ta tatau ritual with braveness, through introducing the young girl’s uncle who encourages her father to be brave in his painful condition. In addition to describing the tattooing ritual of the Samoan people, the author describes how the Samoan people in their respective villages live harmoniously with their extended families, sharing meals and looking after their people’s interest through the describing the young girl 's father’s experience in the village. Conclusion In closing, the Ta tatau short story by Emma Kruse Va’ai can be a great source of history for the Samoan people. As illustrated in the above scope, the author profoundly and comprehensively
In the story “The Tattoo”, Chris McKinney’s book is about a set in contemporary Hawai’i. The story is revealing a side of paradise about the main character, Kenji “Ken” Hideyoshi. It’s mostly about a young man with a troubled past. There is 2 other main character’s besides Ken. There is Koa Pauhi Puana and Matthew “Cal” Brodsky. These three characters have very interesting life stories. There are reasons why these three characters are important in the story.
“The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality, and Change in Papua New Guinea” is a book written by Gilbert Herdt. It is based on a case study Herdt did during the 1970’s of the culture of the Sambia people. His study took place in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. He didn’t know much about their language, however through out his time there he was able to learn their language and customs. As he settled into their village, he mostly slept in the clubhouse with the other Nilangu villagers; however, eventually they built a house for him to stay at. Herdt had a great interest in gaining new knowledge about the Sambia culture.
Kualapai, Lydia. "The Queen Writes Back: Lili'uokalani's Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen." Studies in American Indian Literatures. 17.2 (2005): 32-62.
The way of the Ju/‘hoansi life has changed dramatically in many ways throughout the years. However, it is still possible to reflect upon their original way of life and compare it with their present state of living. Most of the changes occurred due to environmental, economical, developmental, social and cultural changes. All of which play a vital role in determining a Ju’s way of life. Although the land of the Dobe and !Kangwa have developed and changed in recent years, there are still some remnants of how the environment used to be. A significant shift in social and cultural aspects of the Ju/‘hoansi life can be observed in the new environment. However, some important aspects of their culture and belief system are still reflected in their everyday lives.
The poem “First Poem for You” by Kim Addonizio is a sonnet written by a woman contemplating on the permanence of her lover’s tattoos. The sonnet focuses on the speaker’s perspective of her lover’s tattoos as she appears to regard them with fascination and aversion. Upon closer analysis, it could be said that the speaker’s contemplation of her lover’s tattoos is a reflection of her perspective of their relationship. By comparing the permanence of her lover’s tattoos to the fleeting nature of relationships, the speaker addresses the uncertainty of their relationship and her desire for the relationship to become permanent.
Alexa Stevenson. “Probing Question: What Is The History of Tattooing.” Penn State News. 20 June, 2008: 1
Body modification is defined as any deliberate alteration to ones’ physical appearance. Most people think that only tattoos and piercings fall into this classification, but this is barely grazing the surface of the extents that body modification can lead to. Anything from a simple ear lobe piercing to breast implants, or tattoos and scarifications are all considered as some form of modification. In western cultures, modifications are made for aesthetics and self-expression, but every culture is different. Native American tribes find spiritual clarity or vision in body suspension, where the body is literally hung on hooks, and in Imperial China's practice of binding the feet of women to represent wealth and beauty. In this paper we will not only look into different piercings, but the history behind them and tattoos as well, also the different modifications that various cultures practice, and why. I will explore tribes such as the Mursi tribe in Ethiopia and the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India. By the end you will have learned about various cultures and traditions, and have a whole new perspective of the art of body modification.
Madeleine Thien’s “Simple Recipes” is a story of an immigrant family and their struggles to assimilate to a new culture. The story follows a father and daughter who prepare Malaysian food, with Malaysian customs in their Canadian home. While the father and daughter work at home, the mother and son do otherwise outside the home, assimilating themselves into Canadian culture. The story culminates in a violent beating to the son by his father with a bamboo stick, an Asian tool. The violent episode served as an attempt by the father to beat the culture back into him: “The bamboo drops silently. It rips the skin on my brothers back” (333) Violence plays a key role in the family dynamic and effects each and every character presented in the story
• AW’s work is deeply rooted in oral tradition; in the passing on of stories from generation to generation in the language of the people. To AW the language had a great importance. She uses the “Slave language”, which by others is seen as “not correct language”, but this is because of the effect she wants the reader to understand.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
A tattoo is a permanent ink design in the skin applied by needles or a temporary dyed design. The word “tattoo” originated from the word “tatau” which is from Polynesian language. Although the word has an origin, the act of tattooing itself does not. It has been done all over the world in every continent. However, the oldest evidence recorded in history was a Chinchorro (which is now southern
Tattoo” can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. One way to interpret the poem is the tattoo is used as imagery to explain how old men are constantly trying to live the way they did when they were young. This is very ostensible in the poem, but this is not the main issue the speaker is addressing in the poem. The issue the speaker explains is how time changes a person. Another way to perceive this poem is that tattoos tell a personal story about the person. Many people excoriate others because they decided to get a tattoo. Some tattoos are important and represent something meaningful, while there are some that are drunken mistakes. The tattoo can be seen as an emblem of manhood. Machismo and the tattoo are diminished with age. In “Tattoo”,
This research paper speaks of the poem “The Tattooer” that talks about Japanese culture where men are superior and women are seen beneath the men of society. The poem "The Tattooer" shines the light on many of Tanizaki's standard society themes. And in this the tattooer desires the pleasure of his art; the tattooer takes much pride in the tattoos that he creates on the flesh of humans and also endures pleasure from putting pain on the empty canvases with his needle. In “The Tattooer” by Tanizaki Jun’ichiro the tattooer desires the pain inflicted on his canvas but then the perfect body is seen and he realizes that he must now tattoo for the beauty of the tattoo and is soon controlled by women.
Africa is the second-largest and most tropical continent in the world. Africa is a continent that has been broken down into many countries. Due to the large amount of countries established in Africa it causes this continent to be very diverse within peoples skin color, religion, and language. Throughout this paper, I will be focusing exclusively on the similarities that are found amongst the Maasai and Tuareg people. In the books, The World of a Maasai by Tepilit Ole Saitoti and A Nomad in Two Worlds by Ahmed Kemil, they both try to dissect the cultures between these two communities. Both of these authors execute this by looking at the herding practices, gender relations and childhood socialization founded between these two societies. Barbara Worley’s manuscript, Tuareg Nation, will better enable me to further point out the similarities founded between these two groups.
The Te Tiriti o Waitangi was a contract that Maori people believe to be an acknowledgement of their existence and their prior occupation to the land, give respect to their language, culture and belief and “it established the regime not for uni-culturalism, but for bi-culturalism” (Sorrenson, 2004 p. 162). This essay discusses the historical events, attitudes and beliefs regarding Te reo Maori, its relationship to the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the significance of bicultural practice in early childhood education.