Tatau Sāmoa Introduction

The word Tattoo that is common today in the English language today comes Sāmoan word, "Tatau". The first Europeans to visit the Islands already inhabited by the Polynesians mispronounced tatau into tattoo. The Sāmoan tatau is very unique. Its origins stem back thousands of years with two sister who swam from Fiti (Fiji). Although European contact brought radical changes and influence to Polynesia the Sāmoans are the only Polynesians who continued to practice the tradition of that tatau since pre-european contact. The traditional men's tatau is the Peʻa and the traditional woman's is the malu.

More than a pretty picture:

As beautiful as the Peʻa is one must know that it is a composition that has been developed over thousands of years, as a cultural tradition. Therefore the patterns and structure of the Peʻa goes beyond aesthetics.

The Meaning of the Peʻa:

To truly understand the meaning of the Peʻa one must understand the culture of the Sāmoan people that it embodies. The Peʻa cannot only be defined by its patterns (their names and meanings), by the person who wears it (soga'imiti) or by the artist who created it (tufuga ta tatau). To understand the Peʻa and its meaning is to understand all of these elements and how they all work together in Faʻa Sāmoa (the Sāmoan way). Read more on the meaning of the Sāmoan Peʻa.

The pain:

The Peʻa was among many things a rite of passage for a man. The pain is so intense that some of those who wear it can remember no other pain greater than it. There have been rare cases of death from the massive blood loss. Worst than death for the Sāmoan male is the unfinished Peʻa. This is seen as cowardly and shames not only the man but his family as well. Sāmoan proverb "the work of the man - that while women shall bear children, men shall feel the fire of the tatau," - Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin "Navigating the Future: A Sāmoan Perspective on U.S. Pacific Relations"

Not only for chiefs but those who are ready to serve:

Historically, the Peʻa was reserved for only the chiefs. This is apart of the Peʻa that may have changed throughout the 2,000 that it has been practiced in Sāmoa. It was reserved for the Matai at one time and then later grew into eligibility as apart of service to the 'Aiga (family) and the Matai (heads of family).
It was a great ceremony for the son of a chief to complete his tatau. Some of the untitled men ( Aumaga ) were not eligible to service the Matai (chiefs) until they had completed the Peʻa.

One must not only prepare themselves for pain because that is minute and temporary, it is the service to the family and matai that lifelong commitment for those who wear the Peʻa aka Malofie Sāmoa.