Veiqia

Veiqia [βɛi̯.ᵑɡi.a], or Weniqia,^[1] is a female tattooing practice from Fiji, where women who have reached puberty are tattooed in the groin and buttocks area by older female tattooing specialists called daubati or dauveiqia. The practice was prominent pre-colonisation, but it was discouraged in the nineteenth century by missionaries, some of whose activities took place under British colonial rule. By the early twentieth century, there was a single remaining tattooist, known as Rabali, who is recorded as being active between 1908 and 1910. The practice has undergone revival in the twenty-first century, led by the work of The Veiqia Project. Julia Mageʼau Gray is a modern daubati, who has tattooed modern veiqia to several Fijian women.

For Fijian people, the tattoos accentuated a woman's beauty across the stages of her life. Historically, if a woman did not have veiqia she might find it difficult to find a husband. If she died without them, they would be painted on her body after death, so her spirit could proceed into the afterlife. Receiving veiqia was highly ritualised, with many regional variations, and preparation for the process could include abstinence from food or from sexual relations, and purging of the body. The process of tattooing was closely associated with young women, who were also given their first liku to wear once their veiqia was complete. This short skirt, along with the veiqia, symbolised that they were now old enough and able to marry.

Special caves called qara ni veiqia were sometimes used for the ritual. The traditional medicines given to the young women also varied from region to region: some were part of preparation for the ritual, whereas others healed the skin. A wide range of natural materials were used to make the tools for incision and for the ink. To break the skin, some materials used included stingray spines, lemon thorns or shark teeth. Inks were made from Acacia richii or Kauri pine. In some areas, specific inks and tools were reserved for the veiqia of high status women. Motifs for tattoos included: stars, boats, turtles, ducks, wandering tattlers, pottery and basketwork. The tattoo practitioners were women, who were paid in masi (barkcloth), tabua (polished sperm whale teeth) or liku (fringed skirts).

Similar patterns to the veiqia were also replicated on barkcloth and wooden weapons. Veiqia had significant cultural impact outside Fiji. According to mythology, Peʻa, a Samoan tattoo practice, is based on veiqia. While there is an important archive of veiqia research at the Fiji Museum, western museum collections hold many more artefacts relating to the practice than do institutions in its country of origin.