#thesanityclause

bless you frank because I did not know about Drop Dead Fred until you started posting it and I love Rik Mayall I'm so happy

It’s a terrible/perfect movie, Cass. I want everyone to watch it.

Speaking of facial tattoos, the Maori do it as well! How about some Maori mermaids/mermen ?

Hi @siochan-leat,

If you’re not Māori (based on the fact that all your blog says is that you’re Canadian, I’m assuming not), it is incredibly inappropriate to request “Māori facial tattoos” (i.e., tā moko) drawn by someone who isn’t even Māori, let alone a tohunga tā moko.

Tā moko is a sacred tradition whose designs are not merely aesthetically pleasing but carry specific meanings that are inseparable from Māori culture, and it is exclusively to be performed by tohunga tā moko, who are knowledgeable specialists. Pākehā should never perform tā moko. I believe that includes refraining from replicating them in art in any context aside from creating a depiction of a specific real-life Māori person with that person’s own tā moko accurately reflected.

Even kirituhi, which uses the aesthetics of tā moko without carrying its meaning, is almost always problematic and appropriative when tattooed by and/or worn by Pākehā. (It’s just not as offensive as appropriating tā moko.) I assume this situationally problematic nature of kirituhi would also extend to many scenarios where a white artist would be creating kirituhi designs, but I’m not sure how it would work in the context of a white artist drawing Māori characters with kirituhi in a respectful way. Unless and until people who are actually Māori sign off on it, though, it’s best to err on the side of drawing the characters without kirituhi.

You may have noticed that I am using te Reo Māori for a number of concepts here without so much as linking to explanations. That was a deliberate choice, because if you are not even passingly familiar with these words and their context and implications in Māori culture, then it properly serves to highlight how little you understand about the culture you are encouraging a white artist to appropriate from.

To be frank, I shouldn’t even have reblogged the post this is in reply to without stopping to look into whether it would be inappropriate for a white person to imitate Inuit tattoos, and I have now deleted my reblog of the post (the reference link at the top now directs to the OP). It appears that historically these tattoos had sacred meanings and powers, though both the practice itself and knowledge about the tattoos rapidly declined in recent generations as a result of genocide (both physical and cultural), quite possibly to the extent that much of that original knowledge may be irrecoverable. There is a modern movement led by Inuit women to revitalize traditional Inuit tattooing techniques and adopt new meanings for old patterns, but these designs--whether the exact likeness of historical tattoos or new innovations inspired by them--are still inextricably linked to Inuit culture. Unless and until Inuit women invite white women to participate in the practice, these are designs we should keep our hands off of, because we have neither the personal nor cultural knowledge necessary to ensure we are using them in respectful and appropriate ways. An earnest desire to reflect Inuit culture does not cancel out white people’s connection to and continuing benefit from the ongoing genocide that has robbed Inuit women of so much of their heritage, including tattooing.

NB: I am white and live in the U.S., so everything about tā moko and kirituhi is based on an understanding gained from listening to a bud of mine who is Māori. (I’m not going to tag her in this b/c it’s her choice whether she wants to get involved or not, and I don’t want to direct strangers to her blog.) The information about Inuit tattoos I have gained through internet research over the past couple of hours. But I do believe that white people have a responsibility to teach each other that we need to stop appropriating the sacred imagery and practices of Native and Indigenous cultures. This is intended solely as a horizontal exercise in education for my fellow white people based on my best understanding of the situation, and it should not be in any way used to speak over any Inuit or Māori people who may be share their own opinions on the subject. (I could not find any opinion from an Inuit person that was specifically about the tattooed versions of the mermaids.)

So I told these jokes at work and my boss yelled at me...

Oh man I feel the same way about Little Wonders. It’s almost instant as soon as I hear the first chords.

Since thesanityclause drew Phospho, I thought I’d take a crack at drawing Tiger’s Eye. It turned into a messy/rough gif of confusion.

Gemsona time!

I picked Fluorite because I collected gems as a kid and fluorite was always my favourite.