Jason Momoa Gets a Traditional Hawaiian Tattoo on His Head

Actor Jason Momoa has always been a favorite here at Inked. Not only is he a handsome gentleman, but unlike many of his peers, he actually has good taste in tattoos. Momoa has been proudly wearing his Hawaiian heritage on his sleeve for years so it’s not a surprise his latest tattoo continues that tradition.

The tattoo was done by one of the masters of traditional Hawaiian tattooing, Sulu’ape Keone Nunes. Generations of colonialism threatened to completely erase Hawaii’s tattoo traditions from the world, but in recent years artists like Nunes have worked diligently to revive the practice. After learning the machine-free, hand-tapped rituals in the ’90s from Sua Suluape Paulo, Nunes has become one of the most sought-after practitioners of the art.

Getting a tattoo from Nunes isn’t comparable to walking into a shop and grabbing something off the wall. Instead it is a fully immersive process with a deep reverence for the ancestors who came before. Which is exactly the kind of experience Jason Momoa was seeking out. As he says in the post, “It was a true honor 20 years in the making, so stoked.”

Nunes elaborated in his own post, hinting that this tattoo is the first step in an ongoing project. “Great to be among people who have known me since I was a child. Sometimes you have to wait for the right time to get what is right for you. I have known Jason’s father Joe since high school and started talking to Jason over 20 years ago on doing work on him. With family and friends to support him, yesterday was the first step in his journey.”

Momoa and his new tattoo were on their way to New Zealand to begin production on “Chief of War,” an Apple TV+ series telling the story of the unification of the Hawaiian islands and colonization from the indigenous point of view. The limited series is Momoa’s first foray into writing and it is highly anticipated.

Here at Inked we always tip our hats to the rare celebrities who actually dedicate themselves to the process of getting good work, but Momoa deserves even more credit for getting tattooed the old way and connection to his ancestors in that manner. Well done, sir.