Samoan Taulima Sketches

Here are twos pencil drawing of a Samoan man wearing a Samoan "taulima" tattoo design and blowing a conch shell. Blowing the conch shell is sometimes used before a ceremony to mark the official beginning, to herald chief's proclamations, and in ancient times was sometimes used to accompany chants. To blow the conch shell is a call to the divine. The blowing of the shell should always be accompanied by protocol. When it's blown, how many times and in which directions all have a complex set of meanings. In ancient times the blowing of the conch shell was also often used to communicate across the waters between people on canoes and those on land. Sometimes to request permission to come to shore. Permission or denial would then be returned from those on shore by them blowing the conch shell back with a certain number of blows. Permission to land avoided possible death, making the conch shell a vital instrument.