Koru Tatau
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§ Symbol

Fish

Iʻa

Polynesia at large

The fish (iʻa in Samoan, Tahitian and Hawaiian; ika in Māori) symbolises abundance, sustenance and prosperity in Polynesian tattooing. Repeated in a row it forms a shoal, read today as community.

§ How I draw it

6 original drawings

  • Schematic fish with a solid arrowhead body and a crossed tail, drawing by Leo Martínez.
  • Schematic fish with a double diamond outline and a crossed tail, drawing by Leo Martínez.
  • Schematic fish with a crossed tail and only the lower half of the body filled, drawing by Leo Martínez.
  • Schematic fish with a solid diamond body and a crossed tail, drawing by Leo Martínez.
  • Fish with a round body split in two halves by a horizontal line, drawing by Leo Martínez.
  • Border of schematic diamond fish aligned into a shoal, drawing by Leo Martínez.

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

Abundance, sustenance, prosperity.

Iʻa is fish in Samoan, Tahitian and Hawaiian; in Māori it's ika. On islands where life depended on what the sea gave, the fish is the most direct sign of abundance and sustenance: it doesn't speak of accumulated wealth but of not going without.

Repeated in a row it becomes a shoal, and today that's usually read as community: moving with your people.

It usually appears as a filler border rather than a lead motif, closing a band or accompanying the waves.

§ How it's drawn

A diamond or triangle with a crossed tail, very schematic; sometimes a round body split in two halves. In a border the figure is reduced to a small diamond with a cross, repeated in a row.

§ 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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