This tattoo of a manaia (guardian spirit, symbol of harmony and union of the elements) was requested by Meaghan and it symbolizes how the sea and its creatures represent the key to happyness to her.

We placed a turtleon top, symbolizing the navigator and family, held by two seahorses and with an ipu on the shell (femininity, fertility); just below them, a bird symbolizes freedom and watching the world from a different perspective, whilst the twist represents this neverending bond of love.

Shark teeth are symbols of protection and adaptability, the manta ray symbolizes freedom, elegance and protection and the korus represent a new start.

A curiosity: a legend tells that a woman was once bitten by a shark on her ankle. The woman, recognizing him as her Aumakua, which is a guardian spirit or deified ancestor, screamed his name out and the shark let her go, apologizing and promising he would never attack her again by mistake, since he would recognize her by the marks of his teeth on her ankle. For this reason it is still tradition to have a shark teeth tattoo on the ankle as a means of protection from sharks.