Hawaiian Tattoo: Kakau and Traditional Body Art

Tattooing has been practiced in Hawaii for centuries. The traditional form, called kakau, used a comb of sharpened bird bone, shell, or tusk attached to a handle, tapped into the skin with a mallet. The technique and its cultural role connect Hawaiian tattooing to the broader Pacific tradition, from the Māori tā moko of New Zealand to the Pe'a of Samoa. Each tradition is distinct; the Hawaiian one carries its own specific meanings, designs, and protocols.

Kakau: traditional Hawaiian tattooing

Kakau was applied by specialists, often men with deep knowledge of the designs and their meanings. The tools were made from animal bone or tusk, carved into comb shapes with multiple points, and lashed to a handle of bone or wood. The pigment was typically charred kukui nut or other plant materials. The tapping technique, driving the comb into the skin in precise rows, required training and skill.

The process was ceremonial, not casual. Getting a tattoo in traditional Hawaii was a significant act with spiritual dimensions. It was often accompanied by prayer and could mark a transition in life, the completion of an important task, or a connection to a deity or ancestor. The mana held by a person was expressed and protected through their tattoo.

Meanings and symbols

Hawaiian kakau designs were geometric, using repeating triangles, lines, curves, and angular forms that were not merely decorative but encoded meaning. Placement on the body mattered: a tattoo on the hand, foot, face, or chest each carried different significance. Some designs were personal; others were tied to rank, profession, or lineage.

Documentation of specific traditional Hawaiian designs is incomplete, partly because tattooing was suppressed before it could be fully recorded, and partly because some knowledge was deliberately not shared with outsiders. Contemporary scholars and Hawaiian tattoo artists work from what was documented by early Western observers and from the living knowledge of practitioners who have kept the tradition.

Suppression and revival

The arrival of Christian missionaries in 1820 brought pressure against many traditional Hawaiian practices, including tattooing. As missionary influence grew in the following decades, kakau largely disappeared from practice in Hawaii. The tradition was kept alive to some degree among practitioners in the islands and in the knowledge of communities that had not fully abandoned it, but it was not openly practiced.

The Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s and 1980s brought a revival of interest. Native Hawaiian artists began researching the tradition, connecting with Polynesian tattoo practitioners in Samoa, Tahiti, and New Zealand who had maintained related techniques, and developing a contemporary Hawaiian practice informed by the historical record. Today a small number of dedicated Native Hawaiian tattoo artists practice kakau using traditional tools and designs.

Hawaiian vs Polynesian tattoo

Hawaiian kakau is part of the broader Polynesian tattoo tradition, connected to Māori, Samoan, Marquesan, and Tahitian traditions by common ancestry. The word tattoo itself comes from the Tahitian tatau. All these traditions use the tapping technique and share some design vocabulary, but each is culturally distinct.

The widely popular "Polynesian style" tattoo seen in tattoo studios worldwide draws on multiple traditions and creates a blended aesthetic that no single Pacific culture produced. Many Pacific tattoo artists are willing to discuss the distinctions and to work with clients on designs that are appropriate and honest. The most meaningful Hawaiian tattoo experience involves working with a Native Hawaiian artist who understands both the history and the living tradition.