Fa'alelei

Design Story

The three main themes of this Polynesian full sleeve tattoo prepared for Alan as an integration to an existing tattoo on his shoulder are family, the warrior, and prosperity.

Family is present throughout the whole tattoo in the past, present and future, with ancestors on top guarding upon it.

The moray eel represents a difficult time in the past with birds to symbolize a voyage that started there, with many challenges but leading to prosperity and success thanks to tenacity and determination (the spearheads leading to the sun made of pandanus leaves around the existing tattoo).
His fighting spirit is present in the whole tattoo as well, symbolized by spearheads and by the centipede motifs.

Prosperity is represented by the trochus shells, the pandanus leaves and flowers, by fish, and by the traditional filipino fern leaves pattern, while the stepping stones at the base represent the things that he learnt and achieved in his life, following the path to knowledge.