How Many Tattoos Does Tama Tonga Have & What Do They Signify?

Tama Tonga officially arrived in WWE this past Friday Night SmackDown attacking Jimmy Uso along with Solo Sikoa, and getting directly involved in everything related to The Bloodline. Reports had suggested that Tonga had engaged in talks with WWE since 2023. However, all developments came to a halt when Vince McMahon returned to sell the company. Now that everything has changed with McMahon completely unhooked and WWE under the umbrella of Endeavor, Tonga and other free agents have made their way to WWE in recent months.

Tama Tonga became a part of this trend as he made a major impact on Friday. His fierce move set, his intimidating presence as well his Samoan ink work on the arm play up his intimidating look. But how many tattoos does the new debutant have on his body? Let’s find out!

Tama Tonga’s ink work

Tama Tonga is a Samoan and in their culture, tattoos hold great significance. In Polynesian culture, customs were passed down orally in the past. However, tattoos also played a role in knowledge transfer by using the body as a canvas. Traditionally, the ‘Tatau’ served as a form of identification or social rank, keeping track of the family’s genealogy and representing important milestones.

Unlike his other members of the Bloodline such as Roman Reigns and The Rock, Tonga flaunts just one tattoo on his body. It is a Samoan armband comprised of arrows. The arrows are a very famous design, often the most chosen. But what do they signify?

The meaning behind the arrow

In Polynesian culture, the arrows symbolize strength and bravery. Since in another era, the toughest and most battle-hardened warriors carried them. A perfect fit for a warrior like Tama Tonga, who engages in fierce battles inside the ring. He excelled in NJPW because of his battle-hardened mindset and now is ready to rule the WWE with the Bloodline. But unlike normal tattoos that are usually made with the help of a machine, the same cannot be said for Polynesian tattoos. They are somewhat sacred, hence they require different methods. So what method was used for Tongas?

The art of creating the tattoo

Tama Tonga’s tattoo seems to be comprised of a combination of techniques used in Polynesian tattoo making. Most notably, Au fa’atala or au mono (used for the realization of the stitches), Au sogi’aso tetele (used to make the thick lines), Au sogi’aso laitiiti (used for the elaboration of the finest lines), and Au fapulu (a comb that fills in areas that appear completely black.)

So it surely looks like Tama Tonga is proud of his heritage and loves to flaunt it. After all, who wouldn’t if you come from a family of such warriors? What do you think of his tattoo? Let us know in the comments.