§ Symbol
Borneo rose
Bunga terung
Iban · Borneo (not Polynesian)
The Borneo rose (bunga terung) is a symbol of the Iban people of Borneo, not Polynesian. It was tattooed on the shoulders when setting out on the bejalai, the journey of initiation into adulthood, and its central spiral represents the tadpole, life beginning.
§ How I draw it
6 original drawings
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
Passage into adulthood, the journey that makes you.
Worth saying up front: the Borneo rose is not a Polynesian symbol. It's the bunga terung —aubergine flower— of the Iban people of Borneo, in southeast Asia, and it reaches Western tattooing by way of contemporary tribal, not by way of the Pacific.
Among the Iban it was tattooed on the shoulders when setting out on the bejalai, the journey of initiation on which a young man left the longhouse to gain experience and came back an adult. On the shoulders, because they carry the pack.
At its centre sits a spiral representing the tadpole, life beginning. That spiral is what visually relates the rose to the Māori koru, even though the two cultures have nothing to do with each other. It's here because Leo draws it often, and because that central spiral gives the studio its name.
§ How it's drawn
A lobed or star-shaped solid flower with an open spiral reserved at the centre. Symmetrical and compact: it works well on the shoulder, elbow or knee, which is where it traditionally goes.
Interested in a piece with the borneo rose?
In the consultation we work out how it fits your body and your story.
Book a consultation →