I just noticed that someone had arrived at one of my blogs from a web-search for “hold fast” tattoos. It’s something that seems poorly documented online, so I thought I might talk a bit about traditional sailor tattoos.
Tattooing is an incredibly ancient form of art and self-expression. From the earliest age of sail, sailors traveling farther and farther abroad had begun to encounter indigenous people who had tattooed themselves for years. Sailors often got tattooed themselves as a form of souvenir, to show where they had been. Even today, sailors tend to be somewhat superstitious, and generally very aware of symbolism. Tattoos are a most intimate way of associating a symbol (and accompanying meaning) with yourself.
Many “traditional” tattoos have their roots in the history and customs of sailors. The “hold fast” tattoo i have is extremely traditional. It has since been adopted by other tattooing subcultures, but the original intent was to prevent sailor’s hands from slipping on lines, or to secure yourself to the riggin’ when working aloft in weather. To many sailor-folk, the meaning of “hold fast” is obvious enough, but those whose ear’s aren’t trained to it, it might sound a contradiction.
On board, a line (a rope to you lubbers) is “fast” when it is firmly and positively secured. In traditional sailing vernacular, many line- and sail-handling commands have been extended to include persons as well. To “belay” a line is to secure it with a series of turns (wraps) around a cleat, pin, bit, or kevel, stopping it from further motion. Likewise, to call out “Belay that!” might just as well apply to a person doing some undesirable activity, or to stop a previous order from being carried out.
Many other traditional sailor tattoos have their origins in superstition. One great example is the pair of tattoos of a pig on one foot, and a rooster on the other. The implication is that both these animals fear water, and that they will keep a sailor’s feet from sinking into the depths, speeding them back to land all the sooner. The ubiquitous nautical star is variously representative of the polar star itself, or of the compass card; both are to help the sailor find (and keep) their way.
Other sailor tattoos are celebrations of particular milestones. A fouled anchor on the forearm signifies that the sailor has crossed the Atlantic. Small blue stars on the hands signify trips made around Cape Horn. I have read references to turtle tattoos for those who have sailed across the Equator. I also seem to recall something about those traditional swallow tattoos on the shoulders being markers to show the crossing of the Tropics Of Cancer and Capricorn.
I occasionally encounter people with these tattoos who have little idea of their cultural and historical significance. I usually take a little time to try and explain it to them, as I feel that sailing traditions are extremely important to us all. Having my hands tattooed makes me a bit of an ambassador, I guess. My own tattoo artist felt very privileged to be able to “put a real sailor tattoo on a real sailor”.
If you’ve encountered other traditions or histories relating to sailor tattoos, please comment!
Tags: sailor, sailor tattoo, sailor tattoos, tattoo, traditional tattoos
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I want to know what a maritime captains, cheif engineer, and first mate symbol looks like. I know the captains is a ship wheel, and I think a cheif engineer has the anchor, what about the first mate?
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Adam -
IIRC from my days at New York Maritime I would say the Chief Engineer’s symbol wouldn’t be an anchor at all, it would be a screw (three bladed propeller) as that is the symbol of the engineering department. As for the deck side guys, I don’t know that there is a seperate symbol for the Master (Captain) and the Chief Mate (1st mate) all “deckies” wore a fouled anchor, and the rank (on the few occasions we weren’t wearing working uniforms) was denoted by the number of stripes on your shoulderboards (not unlike officers in the USN).I hope this helps some…
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I actually have the rooster and pig tattoos. They can also traditionally be found on the back of the knee not only the foot. I put mine on my calfs due to the fact that foot and joint tattoos do not hold up well. When I was a teen I got caught in the rigging of a sail boat when it capsized. When I was told about these tattoos I put my back piece on hold and made my next visit be the pig and rooster. I live in a rural inland area now and alot of people think that my leg tattos are farm related. They are often very interested in the true meaning of these. The updated version of the pig and rooster tattoo is to put a screw or propeller on each butt cheek.
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just wanted to throw in that ‘hold fast’ is danish… the danes being the kings of the sea… it originated with them and bled to the rest of the sailing community.
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Very informative. I love to know the meaning of designs I am asked to draw for tshirts.
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I just got a pig and rooster tattooed on my feet. I got the rooster on the left and the pig on the right. I got these because i love to be on the water and want them to bring me good luck. i didn’t get the rooster on the right because I don’t like to fight. If I did I would still have it on the left because I’m a lefty.
That’s my spin on it. Thanks -
just added to my tattoo collection, i have now got a nautical star on each of my shoulders , so no matter what direction i look, i will always know where home is. and next month i have booked my tattooist to do a pair of swallows on my chest, one red and one green, for my 10,000nm done at sea.
Able Seaman (Warfare Specialist) First Class Burrows
david-burrows@hotmail.co.uk-
well done mate. how long you planning on, lifer?
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When I sailed to the Marquesas, French Polynesia, in 1979, the young fellows there were just begining to Tattoo themselves again. They were doing a “jailhouse” method but the family/clan patterns they were using had been preserved by the women’s Tapa Cloth Block Printing.
After that voyage I was eligable for two swallows and a turtle! Several of my tattoo pieces are traditional sailor and bases on rites of passage. My major work is some awesome pirate work my artist in Fort Lauderdale did. Also my chest piece of the Extreme Clipper “Norther Lights”, Joshua Slocum, Master. The marlinspike border came out beyon my imagination. -
I need to know what sailors first used to make the tattoos – before tattoo artists and motorised needles and things.
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Although indigenous peoples around the world have been marking their skin in many ways throughout pre-history, tattooing and sailors probably first met in the South Pacific and the Asian Pacific Rim. You’ll find plenty of material online regarding the traditional tattoo practices of those areas.
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I thought the term “hold fast” meant to stand or stay still with courage?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holdfast_(disambiguation)-
I can’t find the exact reference at the moment, but I’m pretty sure “fast” in this context is an Anglicisation of an originally Scandinavian term meaning something like “secure”. The last Danish fellow who tried explaining it to me made great sense at the time, although the combination of my rum ingestion and his poor English has blurred the details.
From this, we might also get “Stand Fast”; both can be taken as being “meant to stand or stay still with courage”, but this is an extension upon the older nautical usage.
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I have a pretty nice pig and rooster set on my feet. Im traditional sailor to the fullest. text mt to see. 9518670410
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Hello, would love to see a picture of your tattoos, i have interest in everything related to the sailing, as I have spend the better part of the last 10 years at sea, from being a fisherman to now being a stoker in the navy thanks alot chuck
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Hi all.
I happened to stumble across this blog while searching for new sailor tats. I’m a 19 y.o. female with four tattoos, two of which have nautical meaning. While I’m not a true sailor, Im a sailor at heart. If I had it at all in me to be in the navy, I would be. I’ve been complemented numerous times on my swallow (nontraditionally on my left hip) by people with no idea what it means. I also have crossed anchors on my foot which a friend and I both got when visiting her father, who is in the navy. Id like to get another swallow on my right shoulder blade as well as the rooster and pig and a rope around my wrist with the words “Death Before Dishonor.” I often feel bad because I don these tats without earning them, but I know that I appreciate the true meaning of them much more than other people and I also appreciate the people that do earn them. I was wondering, however, if there was any nautical meaning behind an octopus tattoo because I am hoping to get one under my swallow for some cohesion?-
You can get whatever tattoo’s you like, however, death before dishonor, is reserved for people who have been in combat. Unless you would truly die before dishonoring your country and comrades, I woulden’t get it.
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great post. thanks for sharing the origins of traditional tattoos–the meaning of which are obscure to the common person such as I
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The danish meaning of ‘Hold fast’. Hold fast means hold on (directly translated).
‘Hold’ means to hold or to hold on. ‘Fast’ means means to be constant and not change.
I’m danish my self, so I’m pretty sure about the translation.Since many traditional sailor tattoos are about superstition or meant to bring luck, ‘Hold fast’ would make sence on the hands of the men working on the deck of the ship, reminding them to hold on to the ropes.
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I just got back from a 5 month voyage on a beautiful barquentine. I’ve always wanted a tattoo, now I just have to wait another year until (I’m not old enough, unfortunately) I can get an anchor (not fouled… that’s not a good thing at all), a sea turtle, and my two swallows (one for the first 5000 nm travelled, and one for the second). I would also love to get HOLD FAST but I don’t really want them in such a visible place, though they do lose a little bit of meaning when they aren’t actually where you hold anything… I also want a compass rose.
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Ive been in the U.S. NAVY for 5 years now i have made four cruise around the world. but i only have two sparrows the banner and next will be the pirate ship. After that will probably be the pig and rooster. Though i have seen many virations of nautical tattoo’s. im a big fan of them but word to the wise if you going to get a tattoo because it looks cool know the meaning first. make it your own and and stay true to yourself. tattoos are forever. but hey i only have 8 tat’s for now but plan on getting more. and loving every minute of it.
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i know that the anchor if for crossing the atlantic but what do you get for crossing the pacific?
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The usual tattoo for a Pacific crossing is a dragon, although this more properly refers to having served in the Asian Pacific naval theater. Of course, I’ll defer to the Navy commenter here to clear that one up
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I was a nuclear MM in the US navy and after 4 tours out in the deep I saw my fair share of tattoos. For crossing the equator, we had a huge ritual where you got completely covered in oil and crawled on your back from mid engine all the way back aft to the thrust bearings. You got the title shellback and most got a tattoo of a turtle on its back. For the staying afloat with pigs and roosters, I was always told that they had to be tattood to the bottom of your feet. They said that when or if a ship or boat sank back in the day the only crates that floated to the surface were the chicken and the pig crates. For most the guys on my boat, the swallow meant that they would always return home. I was stationed on the 718 outta Pearl before it was decommed. Good times and hard times.
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Another important note for the anchor tattoos.
In the 40′s many sailors would get fouled anchors that used the rope as banners for the names of fellow sailors or loved ones who passed while the sailor was at sea. This really only started during WWII but is a cool tradition a lot of the sailors who come through my shop get (I’m a tattoo artist by the way, not a sailor).
Also, the pig and rooster is, as was mentioned before, representative of the animals hating water. However the tradition isn’t exclusively pig + rooster. Its the most classic example but it started as any 2 animals that couldn’t normally swim.
Also, to add on to what the original poster mentioned. Hold Fast actually held duel meanings. The first is the nautical slang that was explained but that second was much more literal. Many sailors way back deliberately chose to not learn how to swim. Since most boats wouldn’t turn around (until precision motors came into play) if you fell overboard, knowing how to swim was viewed as a prolonged an agonizing death sentence for a sailor. Hold fast literally meant not letting go.
Also someone asked about Cape Horn earlier. I can’t verify this but I’ve done a few of these and the image for Cape horn that I’ve done has always been an anchor with a rising sun
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First let me say thanks for maintaining this site. i enjoyed reading every post. Although they do make me feel my age. I was in the U. S. Navy from 1973 until 1977. What an education for a young high school dropout. I got my GED and inherited the most magnificent family any young impressionable lad can have. I’m a shell back and have sailed the Seven Seas or most of them. I was an Engineman 2nd class by the time I got out and the navy helped me to become a man and taught me a work ethic that has carried me through most of my adult life. Tatoos I have none but am considering a couple. I served with many a sailor who proudly wore many and each had a significance. A Chief Boatswain Mate for example had small anchors on his earlobes, hinges inside his elbows and cobwebs on the outside of the elbows fouled anchor on his arm and I believe the gentleman is correct as to the navy’s represntation of the fouled anchor being a testement to the seamanship of the Navy Chief. After all they are the ones who ran the Navy. When the officers needed something done they just ask a Chief.
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Everything I have looked up about Cape Horn is a flagged ship, I wanted to get a flagged ship tattoo but haven’t made that journey yet so I refuse to get the tattoo. I have been in the Navy for 6 years got the swallow tattoos for 10,000 nm and am working on getting the nautical stars to go along with them a star for every 5,000 nm after that. Getting the Pig and Rooster tat next week.
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