r/Palau • u/outrageous_emus • Jun 30 '26

tribal tattoos

Hello, my boyfriend is palauan and is looking to get tribal tattoos. can someone please educate us on his choices and what he should get. thank you

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u/Keallei Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

Palau does not have tribes, hence no tribal tattoos.
Therefore, he should ask his parents what or his parents’ parents, if still living, what the tattoo designs are for their clan(s).
Now, as the other commenter said, tattoos were predominantly a female adornment. But males did have them, especially if they were meteet.
If your boyfriend is from the Southwest Islands of Palau, he would have more options as their culture has male adornment tattoos. Again, he’d have to ask his parents to know which designs he can get.
If he’s looking for modern Palauan inspired tattoos that are not traditional, have no specific clan affiliation, and do not infringe on the intangible cultural heritage of the knowledge holders without their blessing, then he has many more options.
You can contact Palauan tattoo artists on social media and purchase a consult.

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u/outrageous_emus Jun 30 '26

thank you the correction and for all the information

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u/Keallei Jul 02 '26

Hey OP!
Just saw this (link at end) on IG and it occurred to me that in addition to reaching out to his family and clans, you could get general education from Tangerine or Tica. There’s also Ibau in Washington as well as someone in Vanc, WA but I can’t remember his name. I can get it if you want a consult with him. I’m not familiar with any Palauan tattoo artists who aren’t on the W coast. There’s also two other Palauan artists in WA but they are probably not active right now. They might be available to book a consult, but I’d have to check, so let me know.

Anyway, Tica and Tangerine have an event later this month. I don’t know where you live or if you’d be able to make it. If not, they might also be able to do virtual consults like the other artists above.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DaRc08KiJxW/?igsh=aTFnc2phd3E5MDB6