The pe'a covers the body from waist to knees. The word tattoo in the English language is believed to have originated from the Samoan word tatau.
The tatau process for the pe'a is extremely painful, and undertaken by Tufuga ta tatau (master tattooists), using handmade tools of bone, tusks, turtle shell and wood. The Tufuga ta tatau are revered masters in Samoan society. In Samoan custom, a pe'a is only done the traditional way, with aspects of cultural ceremony and ritual, and not with European tools or needles. The tufuga ta tatau works with one or two assistants, often apprentice tattooists, who stretch the skin and wipe the excess ink. The process takes place with the subject lying on mats on the floor with the tattooist and assistants beside them. The pe'a can take less than a week to complete or in some cases, years.
The ink colour is black. The tattoo starts on the back and finishes on the belly button. Overall, the design is symmetrical with a pattern consisting mainly of straight lines and larger blocks of dark cover, usually around the thighs. Some art experts have made a comparison between the distinctive Samoan tattoo patterns to other artforms including designs on tapa cloth and Lapita pottery.
Samoan males with a pe'a are called soga'imiti and are respected for their courage. Those who do not complete a pe'a (which can occur due to the extremely painful traditional tools) are called pe'a mutu, a mark of shame. The traditional female tattoo in Samoa is the malu. In Samoan society, the pe'a and the malu are viewed with cultural pride and identity as well as a hallmark of manhood and womanhood.
Tatau is an ancient Polynesian artform which is associated with the rites of passage for men. Pe'a is also the Samoan word for the flying fox (fruit bat, Pteropus samoensis ), and there are many Polynesian myths, proverbs and legends associated with this winged creature. One legend from the island of Savai'i is about Nafanua, Samoa's goddess of war, rescued by flying foxes when she was stranded on an inhospitable island.
In Polynesia, the origins of tattoo is varied. Samoans and Tonga credit Fiji as the source of the tatau, the Fijians credit the Samoans, and the Māori of New Zealand credit the underworld.
In Samoan mythology the origin of the tatau in Samoa is told in a myth about twin sisters Tilafaiga and Taema who swam from Fiji to Samoa with a basket of tattoo tools. As they swam they sang a song which said only women get tattooed. But as they neared the village of Falealupo on the island of Savai'i, they saw a clam underwater and dived down to get it. When they emerged, their song had changed, the lyrics now saying that only men get the tattoo and not women. This song is known in Samoa as the Pese o le Pe'a or Pese o le Tatau.
The word tatau has many meanings in Samoa. Ta means to strike, and in the case of tattooing, the tap tap sound of the tattooist's wooden tools. Tau means to reach an end, a conclusion, as well as war or battle. Tatau also means rightness or balance. It also means to wring moisture from something, like wet cloth, or in the case of the pe'a process, the ink from the skin. Tata means to strike repeatedly or perform a rhythm. For example, tata le ukulele means 'play the ukulele.'
The tools of the tufuga ta tatau comprise a set of serrated bone combs (au) attached to a turtle shell plate which is connected to the end of a wooden handle; a tapping mallet (sausau), pigment or ink, sponge and water.
Two extended families in Samoa are well known for being tattoo masters. They are the Su'a (matai family title) from Lefaga and Leulumoega on the island of Upolu, and the Tulou'ena family from the island of Savai'i. The late Sua Sulu'ape Paulo II was a well known tufaga ta tatau in New Zealand whose life and work features in the photography of Mark Adams. His brother Su'a Suluape Petelo who lives and carries out traditional tattooing at Faleasi'u village in Upolu, is one of the most respected Samoan master tattooists today.
The traditional art of tattoo in Samoa was suppressed with the arrival of English missionaries and Christianity in the 1830s. However, this ancient tradition survived colonialism and the knowledge retained by the Tufuga ta tatau.
An early documentation of the pe'a on film is seen in Moana (1926), directed by American Robert J. Flaherty and filmed in Safune on the island of Savai'i. The film shows the young hero Moana undergoing a tattoo for his pe'a. The tufuga ta tatau in the film was from Asau. 'Moana', which means 'ocean' was one of the first documentaries made in the world.
O le mafuaaga lenei ua iloa
O le taaga o le tatau i Samoa
O le malaga a teine to'alua
Na feausi mai Fiti le vasa loloa
Na la aumai ai o le atoau
ma sia la pese e tutumau
Fai mai e tata o fafine
Ae le tata o tane
A o le ala ua tata ai tane
Ina ua sese sia la pese
Taunuu i gatai o Falealupo
Ua vaaia loa o se faisua ua tele
Totofu loa lava o fafine
Ma ua sui ai sia la pese
Fai mai e tata o tane
Ae le tata o fafine
Talofa i si tama ua taatia
O le tufuga lea ua amatalia
Talofa ua tagi aueue
Ua oti'otisolo le au tapulutele
Sole Sole, ai loto tele
O le taaloga a tama tane
E ui lava ina tiga tele
Ae mulimuli ana ua a fefete
O atu motu uma o le Pasefika
Ua sili Samoa le ta'taua
O le soga'imiti ua savalivali mai
Ua fepulafi mai ana faaila
Aso faaifo, faamulialiao
Faaatualoa, selu faalaufao
O le sigano faapea faaulutao
Ua ova i le vasalaolao
This is the origin we know
Of the tattooing of the tatau in Samoa
A journey by two women
Who swam from Fiti across the ocean
They brought the tattooing kit
And their unchanging song
That said women were to be tattooed
And not men
But the reason why men are tattooed
Is because their song went wrong
Reaching outside Falealupo
They saw a giant clam
The women dived
And changed their song
To say men were to be tattooed
And not women
Pity the youth now lying
While the tufuga starts
Alas he is crying loudly
As the tattooing tool cuts all over
Sole, sole, be brave
This is the sport of male heirs
Despite the enormous pain
Afterwards you will swell with pride
Of all the countries in the Pacific
Samoa is the most famous
The sogaimiti walking towards you
With his fa'aila glistening
Curved lines, motifs like ali
Like centipedes, combs like wild bananas
Like sigano and spearheads
The greatest in the whole world!
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