Family

Design Story

This Polynesian armband tattoo was prepared for Dawn and it is dedicated to the important people in her life.

Flax leaves are central to symbolize family union, and joined plovers in it represent the union of two families.
Plovers are also messengers from the gods and can keep a link between our world and the world of spirits.

The row of paired fish, shark teeth, and the fusi motif were added to recall a similar band that Dawn's partner had, to honor his memory.

The two opposing rows of shark teeth shape the Hawaiian motif called kuhanu, which represents light coming out of darkness.

The path of Kamehameha symbolizes the challenges she faced in the past while the fish hook was added as a symbol of prosperity and mountains of stability.

On the other side, family (the turtle) represents harmony for her (the Marquesan cross on the shell).
Her mother is below the turtle, her children are in front of the turtle, and her grandchildren are protected by the turtle's flipper, with their initials as maorigrams.

The two tiki on the sides bring protection to the whole family.

The colored image below helps identifying the individual elements in the integration: