I am very glad to hear that calls have been made to preserve the Motuan art of tattooing. I stumbled upon this footage produced by EMTV on EMTV online .
As a Motuan myself, I have great respect for for the tangible and intangible cultural heritage that identify us as Motuans.
The call was expressed by the UNESCO team on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage mission in the Pacific region. The team visited Pari Village outside of Port Moresby and were impressed but stated more effort is needed to keep this tattooing culture alive. This is because when tattooists die, relatives bury them with their traditional tattoo making tools.
Author William Halse Rivers in his book "The History of Melanesian Society, Vol2" wrote, "In Polynesia tattooing is more especially connected with the male sex. Women are tattooed, but the tattooing is less extensive and elaborate than in the case of men. In Melanesia, on the other hand, it is women who are the more frequently tattooed."
I would have to agree with this as in our Motuan custom, it is the tattooing of women that is more prominent than the male. I however, do not really know the meanings of these tattoos as this knowledge is reserved for the womenfolk of where I come from.
I came across the drawings of this tattoos and their local name but I was unable to get a copy. I promised myself to find the paper again and put it up here.
Video courtesy: EMTV Online (embedded)
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