Pueo

Design Story

This Polynesian lower leg sleeve tattoo has many Hawaiian elements to honor Kevin's roots.

The Hawaiian owl, or pueo, is his family 'aumakua and it remains on top of the shin looking ahead as a protection for his future.
We included the feather motif in it, or hulu, a symbol of status, and we placed a symbol for the ancestors on the front of the owl to identify him as Kevin's 'aumakua.

On the back of the leg, the all-seeing eye and two tiki guard his back and protect him through every challenge faced in the past (the path of Kamehameha), overcome with adaptability and strength (shark teeth and octopus tentacle).

Two rows of different enata represent his two families.

On the sides of the leg we placed Hawaiian symbols in vertical rows as in traditional tattoos.
On one side there are ancestors and a split pua hala (lineage, descendants).
On the other side the row of birds represents a voyage, and the lei hala pattern (pandanus garland) represents knowledge and his studies.

On the front, below the pueo, flax leaves symbolizing family unity are in the middle between these two worlds.
The lines symbolize long voyages and safe return, and the woven mat represents the protection and support that he now brings to other people (the two rows on the sides of the spearheads), supporting them and teaching them how to overcome their problems with strength and adaptability (spearheads and octopus tentacles).

The stepping stones at the base represent his own achievements, upon which he built his present life.

The following image shows with different colors the individual elements of the tattoo: