Marquesan Islander with traditional tattoos on whale boat to the cargo ship Aranui visiting Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas

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Marquesan Islander with traditional tattoos on whale boat to the cargo ship Aranui visiting Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas. Tattoos are a sign of maleness or coming of age in Polynesia. In the Marquesas tattoos used to cover a man from head to foot - but today they are growing popularity as a sign of identity. The process is excruciatingly painful as candle soot mixed with water is hammered into the skin to make the complex designs which identify an islander to his own island. A man who starts the process of tattooing and then gives in because of the pain is branded an outcast - with his family - and is shamed forever - a fate worse than death in these tightly knit communities.

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Size: 3524px × 5304px
Location: Marquesas - Hiva Oa
Photo credit: © Nick Haslam / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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