Black tribal tattoo in a bold Polynesian-inspired pattern covering the shoulder, upper arm and upper chest of a man.

Tribal black sleeve across shoulder and chest

Blackwork · Shoulder · Black and grey · Photo

The photograph shows a large tribal tattoo spanning the shoulder, upper arm and upper chest, with the cropped view cutting off the face at the chin. The design uses thick, solid black lines with circular motifs, spirals, chevrons and geometric bands. The ink is black with the skin tone showing between the shapes, and the tattoo fills most of the frame against a dark background.

Blackwork Shoulder Upper arm Chest Tribal Spiral Circle Chevron Sleeve

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A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Aroha,

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The cook on the Marama Star has finally let me near the stockpot without shouting, which I count as progress. I am writing this at the galley hatch with the sea slapping the porthole and a pan of onions going soft on the hob. Nan's voice keeps coming back to me from the summer I spent on her verandah, when she made me trace the spirals on paper before she would let me touch the comb.

Remember what she said about the circle? A circle with no start and no end is the sea, she told me, and a spiral is the sea coming back to find you. I laughed then. Out here I think she was right. Last week the second mate had the chevrons carved along the edge of the rail, sharp as teeth, and the bosun swore the wind was following them.

The skipper wants the old carvings repainted before we reach Suva, so I have been drawing the bands again on the back of the manifest. Every line I put down is a lap of the bay at home. I keep the pen moving until the spiral closes, then I start the next one, because stopping feels like losing the tide.

Tell Mum the soup is good and I am eating vegetables. Tell her also that I have learned to braid the galley ropes into a pattern Nan would have approved of. I will come home with my hands full of stories and my shoulders aching from the pails.

Love, Tane