Fifteen or twenty years ago the tattooing on the men of Uap covered the greater part of their bodies from the nape of the neck to the calves of the legs. To be beautiful and in fashion one had indeed to suffer, especially as no such delicate instruments as steel needles could be employed to convey the pigment beneath the skin; the bone of a sea fowl or of a fish is to the present day the only material that may be used to puncture the skin, and it takes a quite vigourous blow to drive these dull points through a skin that has been hardened and thickened by constant exposure to sun and to salt water.
THE TATTOOING OF THE MEN OF FASHION. THIS IS NOT UNIVERSAL AMONG THE MEN OF THE PRESENT DAY.
TATTOOING
I was unable to find any evidence that this elaborate tattooing was a badge of superiority, or that it was done for any other object than adornment; the only distinction that it seemed to confer was that it proved that the person thus ornamented was a free man; the slave class or Pimlingai are strictly prohibited from tattooing their bodies and, as I have mentioned before, from wearing combs in the knot of hair worn on the top of the head. The custom of tattooing was never prevalent among the women, except those who had been captured from other communities to be companions for the men in the Failu or Pabai; they were tattooed on the backs of their hands and on their legs as a lasting reminder, when they had married respectably and had lost their youthful charm in bringing up a family, that once they had been like the lilies of the field and a thing of beauty, but, sadly indeed, not a joy forever.
The middle-aged men who now show the elaborate and extensive tattooing, say that the fashion was introduced from the island Mukamuk, lying about seventy miles to the northward of Uap. Men from this island once long ago drifted down to Uap and taught both the men and women how to tattoo. In those early days only the warriors were allowed to ornament their legs with the pattern known as “Thilibetrak,” but since serious battles have ceased between the people of neighbouring districts, the restriction has been ignored and now if these patterns adorn the legs it is only to be ultra fashionable and to prove more charming in the eyes of the fair sex. The “Ngol” or representations of sharks, some say, are to protect the wearers from attacks from these fish while swimming in the lagoon, but others maintain that these patterns are chosen solely because the shark is the king of fish, and fish are such important items of the food supply of the island. Götau is the native name for the art, and women are usually the artists during long nights and lazy days in the Pabai or the Failu. Colouring material is obtained from a mixture of the soot from burning coconut oil and the milk of the coconut and a little water. This somewhat sticky mixture is dabbed on the skin, using a pointed stick as a pencil or brush to mark the outline of the pattern and the colouring matter is then driven under the skin by means of a needle or graver shaped like a rake,—that is with the teeth at a right angle to the handle,—the blade being made of a segment about an inch long from the wing bone of the frigate bird (in default of that the wing bone of an ordinary fowl) at one end of which six sharp little teeth have been cut and pointed by means of a leaf of bamboo grass which, owing to the amount of silicon therein contained, makes an excellent whetting material. This blade is bound at right angles to a wooden handle about five inches long. In making the punctures in the skin this handle is struck with a wooden beater and the sharp teeth carry the ink through the outer layers of epidermis. From a very slight acquaintance with the operation I can nevertheless say truthfully that it is quite painful, and almost every puncture of the needle is followed by an oozing of blood.
USUAL TATTOO MARKS OF A MISPIL
I tried in vain to get photographs of the well-tattooed men and women, but with any but orthochromatic plates no trace of the patterns appears on the negative; I made careful sketches, however, both of the old fashioned tattooing of the men and the designs to be found on the Mispils of the present day, as examples of Uap art, since this is almost the only form of decorative delineation practiced by them.