"Kau i ke kukulu" Roughly translates to building on the foundation. This phrase best describes my personal journey through tattoos. My first tattoo I received was when I graduated high school and was on my shoulder. That tattoo for me represented my family, my transition into a new stage of life as well as the mo'o. The mo'o or lizard was one of the many 'aumakua worshiped throughout the islands and one of the most famous lived not too far from where I live now. Panaewa(the mo'o) was famous his epic battles against Pele and Hi'iaka. However, mo'o as a word was a very important one to the Hawaiians. Mo'o, besides meaning lizard, was also a prefix to a lot of powerful hua'olelo. For example Mo'olelo, Mo'okuauhau, Mo'opuna, and so on. The basic gist of this is that it represents lineal movement through time, generations, and stories. This mo'o was the beginning of my tattoo journey.
The newest work is something a little different. It's Traditional Hawaiian designs with a little bit of asian flow to it. It is also the next step in my journey. The first part(on my shoulder) was to represent my family and to know that I have a strong foundation in them. This next step is for protection as I set forth on my own journey as a young man. My journey through life is nowhere near being done...and neither is my tattoo journey!
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