Feedback Here are some emails that were sent to us via: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv.
From: solonaia@gmail.com Subject: Tattoos Date: 6 May 2010 1:33:31 PM To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
I was very happy with your show last night, the copyright speaker sits on the fence with the issue. The male speaker on there put a voice to what most of us think about these island tatoos, i didnt think they were that important obviously i was proved wrong. i thought anyone can get them, forgive my ignorance. What was weighing on my mind was, which of the pacific island nations first started practising this body art? A friend of mine told me it was the Fijians, others say it was the tongans that gifted the Samoan's with it, I would love to hear that side of this debate from those groups. I enjoyed every second of your programme great work Setita and Pacific Viewpoint.
From: esaudaman@gmail.com Subject: Traditional Tattoo Date: 5 May 2010 9:46:13 PM To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
Copyright is a good idea, I wonder why no one in the island ever thought of that before. I really enjoy tonight's show. It has made me think deep about a lot of things, That girl in the pink got us all to think about it the way we havent before. A true island girl at heart. Good on you Pacific Viewpoint.
From: sanafuao@gmail.com Subject: Issue of who has the right to wear traditional tattoo Date: 5 May 2010 10:14:41 PM To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
I was very pleased that you Pacific Viewpoint has done a show on this particular issue. I had the right to wear the malu because I was recently been given a chiefly title. If it wasnt for tonite's show I would not be able to make this decision, the girl was right and bless her heart for stating so on the show not many of us have the courage to do that on television. She has restored in my opinion and that of my family who have watched tonite the importance our ancestors has placed on malu. I totally get where she was coming from and I respect that good on her. Good show Pacifik viewpoint.
Interesting topic: I have done a little bit of search in the net to deepen my knowledge on the topic and here is some information about the history of Polynesian tatoos:
A tattoo is a marking made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification or branding. The term "tattoo" or from Tahiti, "Tatau" is first referenced by Joseph Banks, the naturalist aboard Cook's ship the "Endeavour" in 1769 where he mentions it in his journal. To paraphrase. he states, "I shall now mention the way they mark themselves indelibly, each of them is so marked by their humor or disposition".
Tattooing has been practiced for centuries worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, traditionally wore facial tattoos. Today one can find Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa), Māori of New Zealand, Arabic people in East-Turkey and Atayal of Taiwan with facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples and among certain tribal groups in the Taiwan, Philippines, Borneo, Mentawai Islands, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan, Cambodia, New Zealand and Micronesia. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular in many parts of the world.
History of tattooing Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice since Neolithic times. "Ötzi the Iceman", dated circa 3300 BC, bearing 57 tattoos: a cross on the inside of the left knee, six straight lines 15 centimeters long above the kidneys and numerous small parallel lines along the lumbar, legs and the ankles, exhibiting possible therapeutic tattoos (treatment of arthritis). Tarim Basin (West China, Xinjiang) revealed several tattooed mummies of a Western (Western Asian/European) physical type. Still relatively unknown (the only current publications in Western languages are those of J P. Mallory and V H. Mair, The Tarim Mummies, London, 2000), some of them could date from the end of the 2nd millennium BC.
One tattooed Mummy (c. 300 BC) was extracted from the permafrost of Altaï in the second half of the 15th century (the Man of Pazyryk, during the 1940s; one female mummy and one male in Ukok plateau, during the 1990s). Their tattooing involved animal designs carried out in a curvilinear style. The Man of Pazyryk, a Scythian chieftain, is tattooed with an extensive and detailed range of fish, monsters and a series of dots that lined up along the spinal column (lumbar region) and around the right ankle (illustrated at right).
From: talnoho@gmail.com Subject: Tattooing Date: 5 May 2010 10:45:53 PM To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
Excellent show tonight, everyone who watched it last night recommended I watch so I did just to find out what the buzz was about, and I gotta give it to you, that was quite a discussion there and the panel were great. Copyright of tattooing was an excellent idea, and I dont agree with the man on the panel when he said we can't find out who had original done the tattoo. The Maori's for instant can trace their whakapapa all the way back to Adam and Eve. Copyright attempt was a very good idea, that Samoan spokesperson spoke with pride and clarity from her culture's viewpoint was awesome. I love listening to her, very articulate. She is really staunched on getting the message across that we had to know the culture and the meaning behind these tatoos to fully appreciate its value before we take the step further to have it etched on our bodies.The maori tatooist did not cover what I hoped she would have talked about, do the maoris follow the same protocols similar to the samoans or not? I got the message loud and clear from the Samoan viewpoint but in the blurry with the Maoris and Tongans. In fact no one mentioned where it originated from. Overral the show was excellent.
From: cypressmau@yahoo.co.nz Subject: Last Night's Show about tatoo Date: 6 May 2010 10:33:19 AM To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
I couldn't get to a computer fast enough to email you my viewpoint about last night's show. That was a very interesting issue you had on, very educating, well done. I love listening to the different views, the woman with the purple sweater totally lost me, talking about copyright. I didnt really get what the maori rep was saying but I do wholeheartedly agree with the beautiful samoan female in pink. You didnt have her title there on the screen, its good to see our young generation staunched up on our culture and traditions..well done to her and to Pacific Viewpoint for airing the issue of tattoo lets hope for a second show.Well done.
From: taelasefepu@yahoo.co.nz Subject: Tatau and Malu Date: 6 May 2010 10:53:12 AM To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
Last night's show was very entertaining. My view is that the tatau and malu should be copyrighted and if the island people in that field are smart enough they would be able to do so, I would. Laws change all the time so does the policies and legislations around copyright. I dont think that copyright lady did an in depth analysis of what she was saying she mentioned the two aspects but she failed to recognize the importance of the first one which said " Copyright would be use to protect the artists right against piracy or illicit use. I sided with the Samoan perpective based on what she was saying she was aiming of preventing identity theft through illicit usage of the art. The others think more about the money side of things which is not really important because thats how palagis think, the Samoan girl focus on the illicit usage by other cultures of their tattoos and wants to put a stop to it and I have no doubt that if this is really important to the Samoans, they are a collective nation I am sure they will work out one way or another to have the their tatoos copyrighted. Interesting topic, I would love to hear more about this topic in the future.
ipod Offline Senior Member **** What a show! it's great to see young generation's passion about their culture. I was a little bit disappointed with the Tongan representative because he failed to nail the issue. However, probably it was a wrong field for him to speak on. Next time get someone that knows the facts. I admire the Samoan girl.. you are right tho, people need to be aware of these things before they use them. Thank you pacific viewpoint for bringing out the Pacific issues. As I said before it was a great show.
Masi'i Sitaleki, 'ofa mai aa 'o tuku aa e katunii kae 'ai mai ha ki'i fo'i poini pe taha. 'Oku 'iai nai ha'o 'ilo kihe hisitolia 'oe ta tatau 'a Tonga? Good attempt! Quote this message in a reply
For the past ten years, my life has revolved around Polynesian tattooing. During this time I have only encountered two Tongan tattooists. In fact, most Tongans today are totally unaware of the fact that Tongans at one time were as heavily tattooed as most other Polynesians. One young tattooist, Aisea Toetuu is working hard to change that. He is the first one in nearly 200 years to wear the traditional Tongan tattoo. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Aisea is that he did the tattoo himself using traditional tools. He tapped the design into his own skin and taught his young wife to tattoo so that she could complete his backside.
TA: Aisea, what is your background? Where are you from?
A: I was born in Hawaii in 1974. I am of Tongan and Hawaiian ancestry. My father is pure Tongan and is from the Islands and my mother is local, born here in Hawaii, so I am half Tongan. I grew up here on Oahu, Hawaii.
Well done Malia. Kai fai ha ofo ko ho mala'e ia 'o'ou. Malo Setita hono 'omai 'o Malia he ko e ta'ahine ma'ungata'a kae malo hono 'ai ke ha'u 'o vahevahe mai he polokalama mahu'inga ni. Fuu lahi 'ene lilolilo holo pe mo 'ene 'ilo. Nae tonu Setita ke fakaafe'i mai mo Dr Okusi Mahina kae tau e langi ho'o fo'i polokalama totoo atu ko 'eni. Na'e ha 'a Filipe Tohi? Kaikehe 'ofa atu ki he ta'ahine ko Malia tokotaha pe.
Na'e fai pe 'ae feinga kia Dr. 'Okusi pea mo Filipe Tohi ka na'ana mo'ua 'o 'ikai ke na lava mai kihe polokalama ni. You're right tho, if we have the like of Dr. Mahina, Filipe Tohi, Tavake Tupou, Malia and the Samoan lady - that will be awesome awesome....
Kehekehe Posting Freak ***** I cracked laughing when Sitaleki talked about his mother's view of tattoos. It brought many memories cos' I remember that my Mum and Dad used to tell us that when we're alot younger. They said, "You boys! never to mark your body with tattoo because it is a mark of bad people..". Since then, I identify ones with the tattoos on their body with bad, criminal and wild people. To this point of time, I still view tattoos bad in fact BIG BIG BAD!!!!! don't know why but it does........
Feedback
ReplyDeleteHere are some emails that were sent to us via: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv.
From: solonaia@gmail.com
Subject: Tattoos
Date: 6 May 2010 1:33:31 PM
To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
I was very happy with your show last night, the copyright speaker sits on the fence with the issue. The male speaker on there put a voice to what most of us think about these island tatoos, i didnt think they were that important obviously i was proved wrong. i thought anyone can get them, forgive my ignorance. What was weighing on my mind was, which of the pacific island nations first started practising this body art? A friend of mine told me it was the Fijians, others say it was the tongans that gifted the Samoan's with it, I would love to hear that side of this debate from those groups. I enjoyed every second of your programme great work Setita and Pacific Viewpoint.
S. Penaia
solonaia@gmail.com
From: esaudaman@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteSubject: Traditional Tattoo
Date: 5 May 2010 9:46:13 PM
To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
Copyright is a good idea, I wonder why no one in the island ever thought of that before. I really enjoy tonight's show. It has made me think deep about a lot of things, That girl in the pink got us all to think about it the way we havent before. A true island girl at heart. Good on
you Pacific Viewpoint.
esaudaman@gmail.com
From: sanafuao@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteSubject: Issue of who has the right to wear traditional tattoo
Date: 5 May 2010 10:14:41 PM
To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
I was very pleased that you Pacific Viewpoint has done a show on this particular issue. I had the right to wear the malu because I was recently been given a chiefly title. If it wasnt for tonite's show I would not be able to make this decision, the girl was right and bless her heart
for stating so on the show not many of us have the courage to do that on television. She has restored in my opinion and that of my family who have watched tonite the importance our ancestors has placed on malu. I totally get where she was coming from and I respect that
good on her. Good show Pacifik viewpoint.
Pacifik viewpoint fan
sanafuao@gmail.com
Interesting topic: I have done a little bit of search in the net to deepen my knowledge on the topic and here is some information about the history of Polynesian tatoos:
ReplyDeleteA tattoo is a marking made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification or branding. The term "tattoo" or from Tahiti, "Tatau" is first referenced by Joseph Banks, the naturalist aboard Cook's ship the "Endeavour" in 1769 where he mentions it in his journal. To paraphrase. he states, "I shall now mention the way they mark themselves indelibly, each of them is so marked by their humor or disposition".
Tattooing has been practiced for centuries worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, traditionally wore facial tattoos. Today one can find Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa), Māori of New Zealand, Arabic people in East-Turkey and Atayal of Taiwan with facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples and among certain tribal groups in the Taiwan, Philippines, Borneo, Mentawai Islands, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan, Cambodia, New Zealand and Micronesia. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular in many parts of the world.
History of tattooing
Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice since Neolithic times. "Ötzi the Iceman", dated circa 3300 BC, bearing 57 tattoos: a cross on the inside of the left knee, six straight lines 15 centimeters long above the kidneys and numerous small parallel lines along the lumbar, legs and the ankles, exhibiting possible therapeutic tattoos (treatment of arthritis). Tarim Basin (West China, Xinjiang) revealed several tattooed mummies of a Western (Western Asian/European) physical type. Still relatively unknown (the only current publications in Western languages are those of J P. Mallory and V H. Mair, The Tarim Mummies, London, 2000), some of them could date from the end of the 2nd millennium BC.
One tattooed Mummy (c. 300 BC) was extracted from the permafrost of Altaï in the second half of the 15th century (the Man of Pazyryk, during the 1940s; one female mummy and one male in Ukok plateau, during the 1990s). Their tattooing involved animal designs carried out in a curvilinear style. The Man of Pazyryk, a Scythian chieftain, is tattooed with an extensive and detailed range of fish, monsters and a series of dots that lined up along the spinal column (lumbar region) and around the right ankle (illustrated at right).
From: talnoho@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteSubject: Tattooing
Date: 5 May 2010 10:45:53 PM
To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
Excellent show tonight, everyone who watched it last night recommended I watch so I did just to find out what the buzz was about, and I gotta give it to you, that was quite a discussion there and the panel were great. Copyright of tattooing was an excellent idea, and I dont agree with the man on the panel when he said we can't find out who had original done the tattoo. The Maori's for instant can trace their whakapapa all the way back to Adam and Eve. Copyright attempt was a very good idea, that Samoan spokesperson spoke with pride and clarity from her culture's viewpoint was awesome. I love listening to her, very articulate. She is really staunched on getting the message across that we had to know the culture and the meaning behind these tatoos to fully appreciate its value before we take the step further to have it etched on our bodies.The maori tatooist did not cover what I hoped she would have talked about, do the maoris follow the same protocols similar to the samoans or not? I got the message loud and clear from the Samoan viewpoint but in the blurry with the Maoris and Tongans. In fact no one mentioned where it originated from. Overral the show was excellent.
talnoho@gmail.com
From: cypressmau@yahoo.co.nz
ReplyDeleteSubject: Last Night's Show about tatoo
Date: 6 May 2010 10:33:19 AM
To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
I couldn't get to a computer fast enough to email you my viewpoint about last night's show. That was a very interesting issue you had on, very educating, well done. I love listening to the different views, the woman with the purple sweater totally lost me, talking about copyright. I didnt really get what the maori rep was saying but I do wholeheartedly agree with the beautiful samoan female in pink. You didnt have her title there on the screen, its good to see our young generation staunched up on our culture and traditions..well done to her and to Pacific Viewpoint for airing the issue of tattoo lets hope for a second show.Well done.
Cypress.
cypressmau@yahoo.co.nz
From: taelasefepu@yahoo.co.nz
ReplyDeleteSubject: Tatau and Malu
Date: 6 May 2010 10:53:12 AM
To: myviewpoint@pasifika.tv
Last night's show was very entertaining. My view is that the tatau and malu should be copyrighted and if the island people in that field are smart enough they would be able to do so, I would. Laws change all the time so does the policies and legislations around copyright. I dont think that copyright lady did an in depth analysis of what she was saying she mentioned the two aspects but she failed to recognize the importance of the first one which said " Copyright would be use to protect the artists right against piracy or illicit use. I sided with the Samoan perpective based on what she was saying she was aiming of preventing identity theft through illicit usage of the art. The others think more about the money side of things which is not really important because thats how palagis think, the Samoan girl focus on the illicit usage by other cultures of their tattoos and wants to put a stop to it and I have no doubt that if this is really important to the Samoans, they are a collective nation I am sure they will work out one way or another to have the their tatoos copyrighted. Interesting topic, I would love to hear more about this topic in the future.
taelasefepu@yahoo.co.nz
ipod Offline
ReplyDeleteSenior Member
****
What a show! it's great to see young generation's passion about their culture. I was a little bit disappointed with the Tongan representative because he failed to nail the issue. However, probably it was a wrong field for him to speak on. Next time get someone that knows the facts. I admire the Samoan girl.. you are right tho, people need to be aware of these things before they use them. Thank you pacific viewpoint for bringing out the Pacific issues. As I said before it was a great show.
Kehekehe
ReplyDeletePosting Freak
*****
Masi'i Sitaleki, 'ofa mai aa 'o tuku aa e katunii kae 'ai mai ha ki'i fo'i poini pe taha. 'Oku 'iai nai ha'o 'ilo kihe hisitolia 'oe ta tatau 'a Tonga? Good attempt!
Quote this message in a reply
Interview with Aisea Toetuu
ReplyDeleteFor the past ten years, my life has revolved around Polynesian tattooing. During this time I have only encountered two Tongan tattooists. In fact, most Tongans today are totally unaware of the fact that Tongans at one time were as heavily tattooed as most other Polynesians. One young tattooist, Aisea Toetuu is working hard to change that. He is the first one in nearly 200 years to wear the traditional Tongan tattoo. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Aisea is that he did the tattoo himself using traditional tools. He tapped the design into his own skin and taught his young wife to tattoo so that she could complete his backside.
TA: Aisea, what is your background? Where are you from?
A: I was born in Hawaii in 1974. I am of Tongan and Hawaiian ancestry. My father is pure Tongan and is from the Islands and my mother is local, born here in Hawaii, so I am half Tongan. I grew up here on Oahu, Hawaii.
winston
ReplyDeleteMember
***
Well done Malia. Kai fai ha ofo ko ho mala'e ia 'o'ou. Malo Setita hono 'omai 'o Malia he ko e ta'ahine ma'ungata'a kae malo hono 'ai ke ha'u 'o vahevahe mai he polokalama mahu'inga ni. Fuu lahi 'ene lilolilo holo pe mo 'ene 'ilo. Nae tonu Setita ke fakaafe'i mai mo Dr Okusi Mahina kae tau e langi ho'o fo'i polokalama totoo atu ko 'eni. Na'e ha 'a Filipe Tohi? Kaikehe 'ofa atu ki he ta'ahine ko Malia tokotaha pe.
Malo mu'a 'ae laumalie 'a Winston,
ReplyDeleteNa'e fai pe 'ae feinga kia Dr. 'Okusi pea mo Filipe Tohi ka na'ana mo'ua 'o 'ikai ke na lava mai kihe polokalama ni. You're right tho, if we have the like of Dr. Mahina, Filipe Tohi, Tavake Tupou, Malia and the Samoan lady - that will be awesome awesome....
Fo'i'one'onena Offline
ReplyDeleteMember
***
Great show Pacifik veiwpoint! congratulation on tonight show. I could not agree more with the samoan viewpoint. Kep it up
Kehekehe
ReplyDeletePosting Freak
*****
I cracked laughing when Sitaleki talked about his mother's view of tattoos. It brought many memories cos' I remember that my Mum and Dad used to tell us that when we're alot younger. They said, "You boys! never to mark your body with tattoo because it is a mark of bad people..". Since then, I identify ones with the tattoos on their body with bad, criminal and wild people. To this point of time, I still view tattoos bad in fact BIG BIG BAD!!!!! don't know why but it does........