Samoa
Sand Origin
Vaiala Beach, Apia
Random Sand Fact
How do you learn to tattoo without starting on skin? You practise in sand.
In the Samoan tatau tradition, apprentices could spend hours, sometimes days, tapping a Polynesian tattooing comb against sand to practice the rhythm and precision they would later need on the body.
The same type of comb is placed against the skin and struck with a small mallet, blow after blow.
Sand gave the hand a place to train before the tattooist moved on to decorating the skin of others.
