Back from the Marquesas with a real souvenir

On a visit to the Marquesas Islands, curiosity about traditional Polynesian tattooing left AUDREY YOUNG with her own indelible keepsake.

Having acquired perhaps the ultimate souvenir of the Marquesas Islands, it is easier to explain the "what" and "how" of it than precisely why I returned home with a tattoo.

It was never planned. It wasn't even contemplated before leaving New Zealand.

But tattoos are everywhere in the Marquesas, a remote island group in French Polynesia, a three-hour flight north-east from Tahiti.

The men no longer carry the full-body, full-faced tattoo prevalent only 100 years ago. But the elaborate designs worn by men and formerly worn by women is still very much in evidence, variously reminiscent of Aztec, African, Egyptian and Maori designs.

Each tattoo symbolises important aspects of his life. A row of fish, for example, might indicate the bearer comes from a fishing family, a tiki a sign of respect to the ancient deified ancestor.

Young men tend to begin their skinchiselling on an arm or leg and extend it over the years - which is why there are a lot of one-legged tattoos walking around.

Given the prevalence, it seemed natural enough to ask to see a tattooist at work.

It was a small step from there to wanting one. It was a vaguely daring notion in an otherwise safe life - that and perhaps because the heat made me slightly troppo. It was more a case of "what the hell?" rather than "why should I?"

If the subliminal motive was to horrify my mother, it failed.

"How lovely," was her reaction to the first known tattoo in the family.

It all happened rather quickly one late Saturday afternoon on the front porch of Roland Teatiu's house.

It took 15 minutes and cost $32 for a small traditional motif about 3cm by 2cm.

Roland and his wife, Nadine, live on the waterfront at Taiohae, on Nuku Hiva Island. The view is a pleasant enough distraction to the discomfort of a little hot poker making its mark on the lower back.

Roland is a nurse at the hospital and a tattooist on the side, which explained the use of surgical gloves and liberal application of antiseptic.

Our guide, Pascal, delivered us at Roland's place about 4.30 pm on the way back from a day-trip looking at stone tiki and historic sites. The power was out when we arrived. A flash flood in the river had taken out a couple of power poles. But Roland was away buying batteries for his engraving machine - though not for my micro job. He was preparing for a French sailor on stopover, whose bodywork would take four hours.

As soon as Roland returned with the batteries the pressure was on me to decide on a design. so work could being. The men in our party appropriately dispatched themselves back to the hotel, and Nadine produced a bowl of peanuts.

Choosing the motif from the catalogue was hard. The only thing I was set on was that it be an angular motif - interesting, because it ended up curvy.

The fishheads and pumpkin blossom motifs were out on account of being fishheads and pumpkin blossoms. The fishhook design looked like an IUD and the curls of the Marquesan cross looked vaguely like a swastika. Something called a patea design looked attractive but symbolised forked sticks on which food was hung to protect it from rats. I didn't fancy explaining that for the rest of my life.

One of my travelling companions pointed to the one she liked. So you like it, I thought, so how does that help me? Will I be able to give it to you if I get sick of it?

I sensed Nadine was getting worried with the delay and that if her husband was busy on me when the Frenchman turned up they could lose a big client.

The pa'a'oa, or whale design, was by far the nicest. And in a sense it represented one of my life stories: blubber. By process of elimination it was settled. It was the best design on offer and the one I would have.

There was no question about where I wanted it - in a safe place, the lower left back. And far enough out of sight not to be too bothering if it all went wrong or if I had regrets - of which there are none.

Later, at the Keikahanui hotel, guide Pascal hunted out a 1998 published thesis on Marquesan tattoos and was thrilled that my random choice neatly met with tradition. The pa'a'oa was used by either men or women and was drawn on the knee or the back.

Getting it done wasn't too bad. The pain was not sharp, something similar to the old Chinese burn. It was over quickly and has not been a moment's bother.

I oil it every day with monoi, pure coconut oil. That way it's likely to last longer than other sorts of souvenirs.

* Audrey Young flew to the Marquesas courtesy of Air New Zealand and Air Tahiti.