TEIKI HUUKENA (English translation): In Marquesan art, there is always this effect of light and dark.

KATERINA TEAIWA (NARRATOR): You can see that effect here on these headdresses. The white or pearl-colored shell contrasts with the darker turtle shell.

That same emphasis on contrasting light and dark is also central to the traditional Marquesan art of tattooing.

TEIKI HUUKENA (speaking French): Allô, je m'appelle Teiki Huukena. (Hello, my name is Teiki Huukena.)

KATERINA TEAIWA: Teiki Huukena is an expert practitioner in the ancient art of tattooing. He’s working to restore knowledge of patutiki and matatiki––a system of Marquesan mark making in both tattoo and in carving.

TEIKI HUUKENA (English translation): So in tattooing that's what happens; it's light and dark. And the light side, it’s the magical side. It’s the color of the soul.

KATERINA TEAIWA: Look at the faces carved into the dark turtle shell on both headdresses. These human-like figures represent Tiki.

TEIKI HUUKENA (English translation): Tiki is the first man, and at the same time, a god. Tiki sculpted his wife Hina from the sand.

KATERINA TEAIWA: And from these two, all humans descend.

Behind the tiki is a luminescent mother-of-pearl disk.

TEIKI HUUKENA (English translation): It has almost the same color as the moon, this shimmering color. And in one of the Marquesan legends of Fatu Iva, the hero of Mauitikitiki says Maui, who is sometimes associated with Tiki, goes in search of his wife, Hina, who has escaped to the moon. He had to go through seven mother-of-pearl gates, and the seventh mother-of-pearl cuts off his head.

So, in all of these patterns and symbols, it speaks to the original couple of Tiki and Hina, who in their union gave birth to humanity.

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Audio Footage of Tatau tapping as provided by the Coconet TV.