§ Symbol
Fish scales
Unahi
Polynesia at large
Fish scales (unahi) are read in Polynesian tattooing as flexible protection that doesn't restrict movement. They are used as a filler pattern across large surfaces.
§ How I draw it
1 original drawing
None of these drawings gets tattooed as it is. They're the starting point: in the consultation the motif is adapted to your anatomy and to the rest of the piece.
§ Meaning
Flexible protection, resilience.
Unahi is scale in Hawaiian and in Māori. Scales cover the animal without stopping it moving, and that's the usual reading of the motif: protection that gives. It's why it reads differently from shark teeth, which speak of a more head-on kind of protection.
It's used a great deal as a filler across large surfaces —a shell, a pectoral, the inside of a manta— because it generates texture without competing with the main elements of the piece.
It needs air between the lines: if the curves sit too close, over the years the ink spreads and the pattern clogs. Well spaced, it ages very well.
§ How it's drawn
Overlapping concentric arcs in offset rows, generating a continuous weave. It's almost always framed between two straight rules so it doesn't swallow the composition.
§ Works well with
Interested in a piece with this symbol?
In the consultation we work out how it fits your body and your story.
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