Football season is back at BYU, and that means it's time for the annual "Wait, how come our players have tattoos...?" conversation. This got me thinking about tattoos, and in particular, tattoos that seem to have cultural and significant meaning.Tribal tattoos have been an important part of Hawaiian culture in the past, and have recently made a significant comeback. In many places in Hawaii, the traditional methods for tattooing are still used. There was a period of time after Christianity was introduced that the frequency and meaning of these tattoos was greatly reduced. Tattooing was associated with non-English, and thus primitive culture. It was also contrary to the Christian doctrines, and thus discouraged.
Eventually Hawaiians resented the attempted assimilation into traditional American culture. When I was in Hawaii, it was made clear to me by many of the locals that they were Hawaiians first, Americans second. Now these tattoos have enjoyed renewed significance and popularity as Hawaiians try to preserve this unique characteristic of their culture.
