While tattooing originated centuries before the Pacific Islands were even populated, tatau – the Samoan tattoo artform – has been practiced from the beginning of Samoan history and carries a rich, complex significance in our culture. These days, it’s become popular to include so-called ‘tribal’ Samoan patterns in modern tattoos. We get them inked as bands around our legs, arms, ankles and wrists, or we get our decolletages decorated or our shoulders covered in Samoan motifs. These kinds of tattoos can be beautiful. They also make a great public statement of pride in our Samoan ancestry or association.

Traditional Samoan tattoos, however, are not just about decorating our skin. Our tatau practice involves family, ritual, restrictions, a considerable price and high expectations of the person who receives a traditional Samoan tattoo. Every symbol in our tatau represents something in history or nature, and every pattern carries a message from our ancestors. Although our Samoan tatau patterns are easily replicated in any tattoo, Samoans only have two culturally significant tattoos – so, only two forms of tatau: 

Malofie or pe’a

and

Malu

This is one of my favourite topics so brace yourself for very long post! Or use this handy Table of Contents to jump to the information want to see most.

The Traditional Samoan Tattoo for Men

Malofie is the formal (’higher Samoan language’) name of the tatau given to men. This tattoo is more commonly known as the pe’a, named for a pattern used in its design that resembles a bat (pe’a in Samoan) sleeping upside down.

In this post, I’ll be using both names (malofie and pe’a) interchangeably.

The malofie covers a man’s lower body, from around his ribcage down to his knees, with the pe’a section typically displayed across his lower back. It features various linear and angular shapes and large, blackened out areas in its design.

The Traditional Samoan Tattoo for Women

Malu is the Samoan tattoo traditionally given to women, but the protocol around this type of tattoo is not as strict or complex as that given to men. In fact, until only a few decades ago, the word tatau referred only to the pe’a and not to the malu.

But a lot more women receive the malu now than they did in the past, and the malu has gained an evolved cultural significance over time, so today it is commonly accepted as a traditional form of tatau.

The malu covers from a woman’s knees, or just below them, and extends up to the top of her thighs, with patterns that are more sparse and delicate than those of the men’s tatau.

What makes the pe’a and malu tattoos ‘traditional’?

For a lot of us (including me), when we think that something is ‘traditional’, we get the idea that is correct… or that this is how it’s supposed to be, because… tradition!

In this post, however, when I say that the pe’a and the malu are traditional Samoan tattoos, it’s really because:

• The pe’a and malu are Samoa’s oldest forms of tattoo, and
• The pe’a and malu are the only tattoos that hold cultural significance for Samoans

And by ‘cultural significance’, I mean that these tattoos are part of the customs and rituals that Samoans – as a people – practice. These tatau also serve to preserve knowledge of our history and our understanding of the Samoan way of life.

For any other kind of tattoo – even tattoos that feature Samoan patterns, like sleeves or armbands – you only have to make an agreement with your tattoo artist, pay some money, sit still for a while and then it’s all done. You’ve got beautiful art on your skin now and the transaction is complete. 

It is very rare, however, to get a pe’a or malu without the active involvement of your family. A traditional Samoan tattoo earns you privileges in our culture that others don’t enjoy, but it also comes with responsibility. Your pe’a or malu signifies to other Samoans that you’ve made a lifetime commitment to living our values and the Samoan way of life.

With this definition of ‘traditional tattoo’ in mind, let’s take a closer look at what makes the pe’a and malu so culturally significant.

Why the tatau is important to Samoan people

The first Europeans who encountered Samoa reported that our men wore odd pieces of dark fabric around their legs. When they learned that these shaded areas were actually intricate tattoos, many of them thought, ‘what a barbaric practice!’ and then the colonizers began the process of rehabilitating the natives.

Tatau Patterns Carry Messages

Those who bothered to ask found out that the patterns in our tattoos – what we call mamanu – have meaning…and yes, I know, lots of tattoos mean something special to the person wearing them, but mamanu in Samoan tatau are literally messages from our ancestors. They tell us who we are, how we are connected to each other, and how we should behave as Samoans.

Can you think of any other record (or a book, *hint hint*) that is passed down from generation to generation and provides a code of conduct for how we should live?

A paramount chief of Fagatogo, who in the 1950s was also the first chairman of the Historical Commission in American Samoa, le afioga ia Ma’ilo Pio, is credited with stating that:

…the Samoan tatau is the Samoan’s bible written on their skins.

He was referenced in a paper by Unasa L F Va’a, who spent years researching the tatau practice in New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii. In Tatau: From Initiation to Cultural Symbol Supreme, Va’a also provides a very enlightening glossary of what some tatau patterns mean.

Let’s look at 3 of them:

Fa’avae’ali – this pattern is made up of a V-shaped symbol that represents the legs of the wooden headrests that matai (Samoan chiefs) sleep on. It is used in tatau to remind the wearer that he must ‘provide for the sleeping comfort of his chief’. This aligns with general Samoan wisdom that our matai should be specially cared for.

 

Fa’aulutao – appears at the top of the malofie and looks like 2 spears extending forward from a man’s back and over both hips. Va’a says that his motif is about bravery in defending chief and family, “even to the point of shedding…blood, if necessary.”

 

Fusi – (which literally means ‘belt’) is a thick line above the knee that’s sometimes darkened or sometimes filled with other patterns. This motif encourages fealofani (friendship or fellowship). It is a message that the wearer of this tatau should be a peacemaker, especially between family members.

As you can see, tatau is so significant to Samoans because they carry messages to us from our ancestors about what the Samoan way of life – le fa’asamoa – was and what it should still be today.

The fact that these messages are hidden in symbols that are not so easy to decipher anymore makes it … what’s the English word for when you don’t want to lose something so you’re extra protective of it? In Samoan I might say:

‘Ou te magumagu ia tatou tatau.’

or

‘Ou te puipui ia tatou tatau ona ou te le mana’o e leiloa atu lo tatou malamalama’aga i uiga po o fe’au fo’i o lo’o aumai ai i totonu o o latou mamanu.’

Learning what these patterns mean feels like a sacred effort to connect with my ancestors. The fact that their messages are not so easy to decipher anymore makes me extra …magumagu… and concerned that we don’t lose our understanding of the symbols in our tatau.

And why did those old guys decide to infuse so much meaning into our tatau patterns, you wonder?

The commonly accepted explanation is… we didn’t have pens and paper.

Tatau is a Record of Samoan people

Back in the day, Samoans had no formal written language. It wasn’t until the 1800s that the European missionaries started marking our word-sounds down on paper, but we had other ways of recording our lives.

• We told stories and shared stories
• We greeted esteemed guests by reciting their family and village hierarchies (faalupega)
• We wove our wisdom into lauga (oratorical speeches)
• We captured our daily surroundings in symbols
• We carved those symbols into printing boards
• We printed those patterns onto tree-bark fabric (siapo)
• We infused layers of meaning into those symbols and patterns and etched them into our skin…

So tatau, specifically the malofie in this case, are important to us because they are a tangible record of our people, passed down hundreds of generations from before we ever learned how to write.

And it’s not just life lessons that are preserved in our tatau patterns. The symbols themselves record the way that our ancestors lived. They reveal a life that we don’t experience so much anymore.

For example, we talked about the pattern fa’avae’ali above, which is a symbol for the legs of the ‘ali – a wooden headrest that chiefs slept on. Although various versions of ‘ali still exist in Samoan villages today, they have largely been replaced by western-style pillows, so it’s not very common to see ‘ali around anymore. Plus, many more Samoans live outside of Samoa, where few people have ever seen or heard of an ‘ali.

One day, we might lose our knowledge of the ‘ali or why anyone would want to use them (they’re pretty comfortable, actually). That’s when someone who knows how to interpret our tatau patterns can explain fa’avae’ali and tell our future generations all about how back in the oooold days, Samoan chiefs (and lots of non-chiefs, too) slept on wooden pillows.

Tatau is Difficult to Endure

Our ancestors sacrificed a LOT to ensure that their descendants received the messages in our mamanu tatau.

All tattoos involve a degree of pain, but for traditional Samoan tattoos, our tufuga ta tatau, or masters of the tatau art, use sharp-toothed combs (formerly made from animal bones) that are dipped in ink and tapped – smacked! – deep into a person’s skin.

TA-ta-ta-TA-TA…TA-TA-ta-tA!

TA-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta…TA-TA-ta-TA-TA-TA!

That tapping sound is apparently how we came up with the word tatau, which eventually morphed into the English word tattoo. (If that’s true, I wonder what tattoos were called before the Europeans discovered Samoa…?)

It can take anywhere from a few days to a few months – and several hours-long visits with the tufuga and team – to get a pe’a tatau done. Can you imagine trying to sleep after a long day of the constant, skin-breaking tapping of the ‘au ta (the tatau instrument) on your legs, knowing that you’ve got at least another full day of that ordeal ahead of you?

In the old days, the tatau was especially dangerous and known to take many lives… and that’s not just because our hygiene practices weren’t quite ideal back then.

The tatau ink we used was made from the soot of the lama nut. The seeds from the lama tree (called the candlenut in English) were roasted in a fire pit with a large flat rock suspended over it to catch the soot, which was carefully collected. This soot had to be cured correctly and for the right amount of time before it could be used as ink, otherwise it was toxic.

Yes. The actual tattoo ink we used – especially in the hands of an inexperienced tufuga – could very well have killed a few men.

Today our tatau instruments are made of more sterile materials, our tufuga work a lot more hygenically and they generally use industry-standard tattoo ink, but Samoans still prefer for our traditional tatau process to retain the hallmarks of, well, tradition.

For our pe’a and malu, we generally want our tufuga to be known – by family name and/or reputation – for their expertise in the art of tatau. We want them to use the appropriate tatau instruments rather than a tattoo machine, even if it means the tatau process is slower and more painful – it’s just part of the experience! – and we want to be able to endure to the end.

Part of the appeal of receiving a traditional tatau is knowing how long and difficult the process is, but challenging yourself to stay till it’s done! No one wants to be that guy whose tatau is not finished, for whatever reason. Once the tattooing has begun, not completing it will make it seem like the pain was too much for you. It’s considered a sign of weakness, and some people think it would have been better if you didn’t start your tatau at all.

This challenge of strength and endurance, so intricately connected to culture and heritage, is why so many Samoans choose the tatau as a rite of passage.

Tatau is a Rite of Passage

We always hear that getting a traditional Samoan tattoo is a rite of passage, but – confession – I’m not really sure what that phrase actually means.

Let’s see what Dictionary.com says:

rite of passage

– a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone’s life.

Ah okay.

By that definition, a tatau can mark several important stages in a man’s life.

Whenever I have discussed the pe’a tatau with my Samoan cultural teachers or with elders in my family, the most commonly mentioned scenario is a young man wanting to celebrate his ascension into adulthood. He would approach his parents or elders in his family with this desire for a pe’a, and usually (not always), Samoan elders welcome the request, mostly because the process of obtaining a tatau tends to be a bonding experience for the entire family.

Another important stage is when a young man in the village wants to signify his intention to become a matai (chief) someday… and he wants the relevant rewards of becoming a soga’imiti – what we call an untitled man who has the pe’a. Unlike a pula’u (an untitled man with no tatau) who has to serve from outside the fale tali malo (meeting house) during a gathering or function, soga’imiti are allowed to serve inside amongst the matai. This means that soga’imiti are more exposed to Samoa’s ‘higher’, chiefly language, and that he can learn the more subtle protocols involved in his future role as a chief.

A tatau can gifted to a man who has already become a chief. Matai with malofie tend to attract more attention and admiration from his peers, which in turn can lead to more favourable treatment for him in gatherings of chiefs…and a matai who is more handsomely rewarded is better able to provide for his family.

Sometimes, a man is not blessed with the means or even the desire for a pe’a until later in life, when a significant event – perhaps the death of an elder, or the birth of a grandchild – might trigger in him a need to connect more tangibly with his culture. I know of several middle-aged or older men who have received a pe’a to mark a newly found appreciation for their Samoan heritage.

People can choose to mark important events in their lives in so many ways. They could take a trip, for example, or celebrate with cake or even get a new tattoo on your arm. Receiving a culturally significant Samoan tatau, however, carries a weight of commitment that you don’t have to make in, say, a trip or an armband tattoo.

Tatau is a Commitment to a Way of Life

A few years ago I wrote a blog post to answer a questions I always get: Do I have to be Samoan to get a Samoan tattoo?

The short answer is:

No. Lots of tattoo artists will take your money and give you (their version) of a traditional Samoan tattoo, no questions asked.

But if you scroll through the comments of all my old posts about the Samoan tatau, you’ll see some pretty strong opinions from Samoans all over the world.

Other than a few generous commenters who think it’s okay for us to share our tatau art with others, the general consensus is that traditional Samoan tatau are for Samoans only.

It’s a sentiment shared by educators at the National Park Services of American Samoa who say:

The artwork and designs go beyond being skin deep—there is history and deep meanings behind them. The tattoo and designs of the Samoa islands represents community, power, status, respect, honor, and is a mark of pride that are only to be worn by Samoans. For those who have no cultural influence or heritage background it is an act of disrespect to display their symbols and designs.

Ia gale ua uma upu. 🙂

My personal take on the matter is that I’m not a tufuga ta tatau, so it’s not possible for me to be a gatekeeper of the Samoan tatau…but like so many other Samoans, I want to see our pe’a and malu on the skin of people who understand what they mean and are making the effort to live in a way that honours the Samoan culture – whatever your ethnicity might be. To me, what’s in your heart is more important than what’s in your blood.

But if you’re going to get a Samoan tatau, you have to accept that Samoans will have high expectations of you. By wearing a pe’a (or a malu), you’re making a promise to other Samoans – especially to your family – that you will live by the standards our ancestors passed down in the mamanu of your tatau, that you will learn the intricacies of Samoan customs and protocols, that you will strive to be a wise and honourable leader – whether that’s as a matai or as a parent – and that you will always uphold the values of the Fa’asamoa.

So, unlike getting other kinds of tattoos, receiving a culturally significant Samoan tatau is a lifetime commitment to an entire people and to the Samoan way of life.

The Tatau is a Family Affair

When a man decides he wants a pe’a, his first step is to approach a parent or guardian with the request. An older man might call on his children or his siblings to inform them of his intentions. Why?

First, at it’s core, the tatau is a celebration of our ancestry. For this reason, if you successfully receive your tatau, it will be a source of pride for your whole family, so it makes sense that they would support your journey from the beginning. Your elders will also want to make sure that you understand what you’re about to do and that you’re the kind of person who will honour the commitment of the tatau.

Second, a traditional tatau is not cheap. Not many young men (or older men, either) have the thousands of dollars it costs to pay a tufuga ta tatau, and it’s customary for Samoan families to share the financial expenses of important events. If your family thinks you are worthy, they will help you pay for your tatau.

Third, remember how I said (ad naseum) that the tatau is culturally significant? Well, there’s a protocol around seeking a pe’a (or a malu) and engaging a tufuga ta tatau. I wrote a whole article that explains each step of that process. Check it out here: The Truth about the Samoan Tattoo – Part III.

Chances are, a man who has never had a pe’a done will not know how to begin his tatau journey and will need to be guided by the wisdom of his elders.

Finally, Samoans don’t believe that anyone – especially a loved one – should endure a challenge alone. It is customary and encouraged for a person who is receiving a tatau to be accompanied by a partner – a soa. This soa will receive his or her own tatau at the same time, and will thus share in the pain, the adventure and the celebration of successfully completing this rite of passage.

And yes, your soa will most often be related to you, too.

Do you know of any other tattoo practice that involves this much family support? (Serious question. Please let me know in the comments.)

Tatau is a Legacy of Artistry

As you may know, Samoans believe that the art of tatau was brought to Samoa by two demigod sisters: Taema and Tilafaiga. Carrying the ato ‘au (the bag of tatau instruments) in their mouths, they swam either all the way from Fiji or from not that far away in Fitituta, Manu’a. It depends on who you ask.

You can read more about the tatau origin story here, where I’ve also translated le Viiga o le Tatau, our ancient chant which preserves this story.

So the sisters reached Samoa … and bear with me on this next part because I have heard a few versions and I’m going with the one that rings the most true to me. You can fight me in the comments :).

So the sisters reached Gagaifo, Lefaga on the island of Upolu where they gifted the ato ‘au to a man in the Su’a family and taught him the art of tatau. They also visited and taught someone in the Tulou’ena family in Falealupo, Savaii.

From those first tufuga, the tatau skill was passed down generations and through a spider web of bloodline connections, where tufuga from other families rose in prominence for their skill and artistry. These clans include Lia’ifaiva, Lavea and Sulu’ape – which is probably the most notable name in tatau today.

Why does it matter who your tufuga ta tatau is?

We’ve talked about mamanu, the patterns in our traditional tatau. While the overall composition of a pe’a or malu is generally the same for everyone’s tatau, it is the tufuga who decides where certain mamanu will appear, which areas are filled or left bare, and which of the tufuga’s own signature marks will be included.

The most knowledgeable of tufuga will make those artistic decisions not just from his (or these days, her) own sense of creativity, but also with your family and village history in mind.

One of my mentors in the Samoan culture was well-known teacher and writer Tofaeono Tanuvasa Tavale. When I asked him about tatau, he said (paraphrased):

It is always best to look for a tufuga who is in your family. A stranger might not care as much about the quality and symbolism in your tattoo. If that’s not possible, find a tufuga who has a good understanding of your family lineage because this should reflect in the patterns of your tatau.

When you ask a man about his pe’a, one of the first things he’ll probably tell you is the name of his tufuga. If you’re going to trust this artist to etch a record of your ancestry into your skin, if you’ve agreed to wear this tufuga’s masterpiece every day for the rest of your life, you’ll want to choose carefully. Let your family help you find a tufuga that you can be proud of.

Final Thoughts

Ia. Ua ka lelavā kusikusi!

I think I‘ve just typed a million words…and if you made it all the way here, I hope at least a few of those words have been useful to you.

The purpose of my long story is just to clear up a few misconceptions I see around a lot, especially on mainstream tattoo websites. Here’s a summary of my fiapoko faasa’oga:

• You can’t put Samoan patterns on any tattoo and call it ‘traditional’. Why? Because Samoans have an actual tattoo tradition that is very much alive.
• Using Samoan patterns without knowing what they mean is like writing gibberish on a canvas and framing it as art. I could 100 percent still make it pretty – for sure! – but I’d be missing an opportunity to take this art to the next level and infuse it with a language that others can understand.
• It’s not just the patterns that make our tatau ‘traditional’. A young man might have a lovely sleeve tattoo with Samoan patterns in it, but that would never make him a soga’imiti. A pe’a on a matai who is stepping up to speak makes a much greater statement of strength and authority than an armband or ankle tattoo. Our pe’a and malu are traditional because they have (say it with me now) cultural significance.

And finally, I leave this post with a request.

If you want to get an actual traditional Samoan tattoo – a pe’a or a malu – please… because I know it’s a free world and you can do what you want, but consider this a special appeal from a Samoan who cares, and there are a lot of us out there…

Please remember that your tatau is your lifetime promise to behave in a way that honours our values as Samoan people.

~*~