The commercialization of traditional pacific tattoosStudent:Professor:Course title:Date:The commercialization of traditional pacific tattoosIt is apparent that the ritual arts of pacific tattoos have been commercialized by the Western culture. There is a wide range of pacific tattoos ranging from Tahitian to Samoan, Fijian, Marquesan, to Tongan and many other Polynesian Tattoo work. There are varied tattoo styles available. It is noteworthy that even though tattooing has been practiced amongst many peoples and cultures for years, nowhere worldwide has the practice of tattooing been as essential to the cultural legacy of peoples as in the Pacific Islands of Oceania (Allen, 2011). As indicated by legends, the practice of tattooing is essentially a very old custom. Asia is believed to be the origin of these tattooing practices, just as the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands themselves. Tattooing was an imperative element of the culture of the many peoples in the Pacific Islands. The communities utilized tattoos in marking the status of a person, used as a rite of passage for both males and females, for mourning the dead, as well as to project prowess and ferociousness in combat (Thomas & Cole, 2009). Early explorers from the West were astounded by these exceptional designs, and some of them got tattooed, thereby introducing the design back to...