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EveryParampara

Tatau

The Samoan tattoo, a rite of passage done with a comb and mallet.

A pattern drawn for this page, not a picture of Tatau.

Also: pe'a, samoan tattoo

Tatau is the Samoan art of tattooing, from which the English word tattoo derives. A master, the tufuga, uses a comb of boar's tusk or bone attached to a handle, tapped with a mallet to puncture the skin and drive ink beneath it. The male pe'a covers the body from waist to knees in dark geometric patterns, and the female malu covers the thighs. It takes days or weeks and is a painful rite of passage, done with the support of family who sit around the recipient. The tattoo marks service to the chief and community. Samoans in New Zealand and the United States carry on the tradition.

Region: Oceania

See also

MokoKava

Find traditions that mention Tatau

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.