ABSTRACT
Formal characteristics and social meanings of tattooing have been developed in various ways in Polynesian islands, which have different processes of formation and transformation of society. This chapter focuses on the contemporary issues of tattooing by using the genealogical approach, which re-examines historical events with regard to contemporary issues and interests. It highlights the politics of Tahitian tattoo history, which was related to social hierarchy in the pre- and early contact period, and ethnic and independence movements in the twentieth century. The chapter illustrates the history of Tahitian tattooing along with social transformation of the island. It shows that there is discontinuity in the history of Tahitian tattooing (as well as continuity), and that the practice that was observed in the early contact period was displaced by the revived tattooing which is embedded in the contexts of youth culture, gender relationships, cultural revitalization, tourism, modernity and artisanal activities.
