| Arts and craft : Tattoo |
| Clothes made from "tapa"(bark cloth) were never decorated with marquesan motifs , but the art of tatooing develloped to an unmatched level throughout all of the pacific.A cultural revival in the 90's allowed modern Marquesans to revive this atr to a very elaborate level. | 
| It is due to the work of Karl Von Den Steinen (beginning of XXth century) and more recently by Marie-Noelle Ottino's book that ancient marqueasan tattooing is well known. |
| The art of tattoo is intrinsically tied to the marquesan culture. In a world of oral tradition , tattoo images were signs of knowledge , memory , teachings and reflected social status.Sometimes they gave right to enter into the man's world and created a barrier against evil spells. Through the contrasts of the pale skin and the dark motifs , a concept of harmony between the dead and the living , between the day and the night, between man and woman, between ordinary and sacred was expressed. |
| Tattoo,sign of self-assertion and identity,marquesan beauty and an important part of the humanitarian patrimony reappears today during the new stage being experienced by the marquesan archipelago.The tattooing technique was called "e patu tiki".The process consisted of the introducing a very dark dye into the skin with a tattoo "comb"- a pointy object made from bone or turtle shell. | 
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| The "ink" used was generally obtained from coconut water or oil , other nuts and soot.The men could be completely tottooed, including the scalp , the eyelids and the tongue.Women's tattoos were less elaborate, usually limited to around the lips , the ears, the shoulders, the lower back, the legs , the feet and the upper hand. |
| The quality and beauty of the motifs are of an exceptional quality.They relate to natural elements , to plants, to human nature, to legends, but most of the spiritual significations have dissappeared. |
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