Tattoo History - Omai

Omai the Tahitian prince wasn't the first tattooed native who was introduced to the society of England but he probably is the most famous. He was brought to England by world circumnavigator James Cook at his return from his second voyage to Tahiti in 1774.

Omai was the one to emboss the term tattoo in England and then Europe since he always used the word tatau to describe his skin decoration. Press reports about the "Wild Indian, that was taken on the island in the south seas" were all over Europe. In France the "Narrations d'Omai" was released in four voluminous volume and the Theater Royal in Convent Garden in London showed mime theater with the title "Omai, or, a trip around the world". Since Omai was always dressed very elegant and behaved very well, the savage soon turned into a "private gentlemen with small fortune" on the courtyards and castles in England. The physicist and author Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742 - 1799) said about his encounter with Omai in 1775: "His arms are covered with blue dots, around the fingers of the right hand they go in circles. I did not feel uncomfortable seeing my hand in his that just came from the other end of the world".

Different to his precursor Prince Giolo, who was the first savage who was displayed in public, Omai was luckier. While Giolo sickened and died due to the endeavors and the European climate, Omai was taken back to Tahiti by James Cooks on his third journey as promised. Naturally not without leaving him and his friends the blessing of civilization.

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