Matai Wear Printing

HISTORICAL CONTEXT - COLONISATION & MIGRATION

Samoans are the original inhabitants of the Samoa Islands, which lie north of New Zealand between latitude 13° and 15° south. The two large islands are Upolu and Savai‘i, and the only other inhabited islands are Manono and Apolima. About 80 km south-east is Tutuila, the principal island of the smaller territory of American Samoa.

Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggests that Samoa, Fiji and Tonga may be the original homelands of the Polynesians. It was from these islands that, some 2,000 years ago, Polynesians settled the rest of the South Pacific, eventually reaching New Zealand. In a July 2007 estimate, the population of Samoa was 214,265.

Colonisation

In 1899, possession of Samoa was divided between Germany (Western Samoa) and the United States (Eastern Samoa). At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, New Zealand occupied Western Samoa and administered the islands until 1962. New Zealand controlled Samoa as a Class “C” Mandate under trusteeship through the League of Nations. There followed a series of New Zealand administrators. Samoa gained independence from New Zealand on the 1st January, 1962, making it the first Pacific Island country to do so. In July 1997, the constitution was amended to change the country’s name from Western Samoa to Samoa, as it had been designated by the United Nations since joining the organisation in 1976. The U.S. territory of American Samoa protested the move, asserting that the change diminished its own identity.

FA’ASAMOA & CULTURAL SYMBOLISM

Fa’asamoa – Samoan culture

The concept of fa‘asamoa is essential to Samoan identity, and consists of a number of values and traditions:

• aiga (family)

• tautala Samoa (Samoan language)

• gafa (genealogies)

• matai (chiefly system)

• lotu (church)

• fa‘alavelave (ceremonial and other family obligations).

There are also the associated values of alofa (love), tautua (service), fa‘aaloalo (respect), feagaiga (a covenant between siblings and others) and usita‘i (discipline).

The fa‘asamoa practised in Samoa may differ from that in New Zealand. Not every Samoan has the same understanding of the concept. What remains constant is maintaining the family and links with the homeland.

Malu & Pe’a Tatau - Tattooing

Tattoos, or tatau, demonstrate the strong ties many Samoans feel for their culture. Samoans have practiced the art of tattooing both men and women for over 2,000 years. As with many Polynesian islands with significant and unique tattoos, Samoans have two gender specific and culturally significant tattoos. For males, it is called the pe’a and consists of intricate and geometrical patterns tattooed that cover from the mid-back, down the sides and flanks, to the knees. A male who possesses such a tatau is called a soga’imiti.

A Samoan girl or teine is given a malu, which covers the area from just below her knees to her upper thighs. A woman’s tattoo is not quite as extensive or heavy as a pe’a. The geometric patterns are based on ancient designs, and often denote rank and status. The va’a or canoe, for example, stretches across a man’s mid-back.

Samoan oral tradition generally recognises that two women, Taema and Tilafaiga, introduced the practice of tattooing. Before the arrival of Christian missionaries, starting in 1830, all Samoan males got a traditional tattoo. Though the early missionaries did not succeed in outlawing the practice, which they considered as defacement of the human body and heathenish, they eventually succeeded in refocusing the custom on the sons of chiefs.

In Samoa's cultural past most males were tattooed between the ages of 14-18, when it was determined they had stopped growing, so the designs would not stretch and suffer in beauty. Today, there has been a strong revival of traditional tattooing in the past generation, not only in Samoa but throughout Polynesia,often as a symbol of cultural identity.

The Samoan word for tattoo is tatau which means "correct or workmanlike." It also signifies the correct quadrangular figures in reference to the fact that Samoan tattoo designs do not include circular lines, although other Polynesian tattoo motifs do. Early Englishmen mispronounced the word tatau and borrowed it into popular usage as tattoo.

Traditional tattooing is a painful process. The Samoan tattoo master dips his cutting tools into black ink made from the soot of burnt candlenut shells, and then punctures designs into the skin. The cutting tool, or "needle," consists of a short piece of bamboo or light wood with a piece of tortoiseshell bound at right.  During the time of the operation, relatives and friends of the family come from far and near to help. They bring with them quantities of food, robes and tapa cloths to help with the payment of the artist and his wife.

A little bone comb is bound to the lower broad end of the tortoiseshell. The larger the comb, the greater the area on the skin is covered with fewer strokes. The master uses a small mallet to repeatedly tap a short handled instrument. The process takes days, and is sometimes partially accomplished over longer periods, with recuperation in between. Tattoo designs have changed to include freehand symbols such as the kava bowl representing hospitality; the characterization of the Samoan house or fale signifying kinship; emblems of nature — shells, fish, birds, waves, centipedes; and the traditional geometric lines and angles of different lengths and sizes.

One of the Samoan legends surrounding the origin of tatau describes how the two sisters, Tilafaiga and Taema were sent from Manu'a to Fiji to visit the daughter of King Tuimanu'a. While there, they were presented with a gift from the royal family of King Tuifiti which was a tattooing instrument. While swimming home they carefully held onto their precious gift while singing a chant that the Fijians had taught them translating it into Samoan. In English, the chant would say "women are tattooed and men are not." They were very exhausted when they arrived home and in their confusion they reversed the chant singing the first part last. When they reached Savai'i, they were carried into the high chief’s guest house and were treated like royalty until they had recovered from their swim. Before continuing their swim to Manu’a, they offered to the chiefs and the people of Savai’i the tattooing instruments that had been a gift from King Tuifiti. The people of Savai’i started at once to tattoo the young men as they had learned from the reversed chant. Tattooing became the mark of distinction among the youths of Samoa except in Manu’a where the king ruled against the practice.

‘Ula Lei – Floral Garlands

In Polynesian cultures, a lei is something that is created by someone and given to another with the intent to decorate that person for an emotional reason—usually as a sign of affection. Common reasons include greeting, farewell, affection or love, friendship, appreciation, congratulation, recognition, or to otherwise draw attention to the recipient.

The most popular concept of a lei in Hawaiian culture is a wreath of flowers draped around the neck presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of affection. This concept was popularised through tourism between the Hawaiian Islands and the continental United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. In Samoa, a similar garland is called an ‘ula. ‘Ula (necklaces) were made from a variety of natural products that included fresh leaves, scented flowers, fruit, seeds, shells and whale’s teeth.

Most are still commonly used today. Threaded together in various combinations, ‘ula are worn for festive occasions and given as gifts to arriving and departing guests.  The whale-tooth tooth necklace is the most valued of Samoan necklaces and is traditionally worn only by chiefs and their offspring. Historically, the 'ula lei (ula nifo) were a symbol of status and wealth. Made from the teeth of the sperm whale, they were split and ground down into curved and pointed pendants. From there, they were smoothed and polished, threaded onto a cord and worn around the neck. ‘Ula fala made from dried and painted pandanus seeds are worn by orator chiefs.

‘Ula lei may be open or closed, depending on the circumstance. They should never be thrown away casually as a lei represents love, and to throw one away represents throwing away the love of the giver.

Traditionally they should be returned to the place they were gathered, or if that is not possible, they should be returned to the earth by hanging in a tree, burying, or burning.

‘Ula were made customarily from natural resources such as frangipani (plumeria blossoms), hibiscus, pandanus seeds, kukui nuts, banana leaves. More recently, and particularly in urban contexts, plastic flowers are used as well as ribbons, lollies and chocolates. ‘Ula materials clockwise: frangipani,

WORDBANK

PRIMARY

aiga - family

siapo - paper mulberry bark cloth

alofa - love

tatau - tattoo and translates as ‘correct’ or ‘workmanlike’

fale - house

‘ula - necklace or garland

gafa - genealogies

pe’a - traditional Samoan tattoo for men

lotu - church

vao - forest

SECONDARY

fa’alavelave - ceremonial and other family obligations

fa’asamoa - Samoan culture

feagaiga - an established relationship between different parties, as between brothers and their children.

ifonga - reconciliation

kava - a plant from which a customary ‘intoxicating’ beverage is prepared for ceremonial and social purposes

matai - chiefly system/chief

malu - traditional Samoan tattoo for women

palagi - white person

siva - to dance accompanied by song

soga’imiti - the name for a male with a pe’a tattoo

tautala Samoa - Samoan language

teine - Samoan girl

va’a - canoe

All quoted from: http://www.pataka.org.nz/uploads/60548/files/Contemporary Samoa Teachers Notes

Samoan Tatoo (Tatau)