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The word tatau has many meanings in Samoa. Tā 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 ...
A Samoan woman with malu. Malu is a word in the Samoan language for a female-specific tattoo of cultural significance. [1] The malu covers the legs from just below the knee to the upper thighs just below the buttocks, and is typically finer and delicate in design compared to the Pe'a, the equivalent tattoo for males.
The traditional male tattoo in Samoa is called the pe'a. The traditional female tattoo is called the malu. The word tattoo is believed to have originated from the Samoan word tatau, coming from Proto-Oceanic *sau₃ referring to a wingbone from a flying fox used as an instrument for the tattooing process. [67]
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. Tatau, the Samoan word for tattoo has a number of meanings including correct or rightness. It also signifies the correct quadrangular figures in reference to the fact that ...
Then there was the Ula Nifo, a necklace made from whale-tooth that is worn by the head chief or by the person who dances the taualuga. It was also a symbol of wealth. Finally, the meaning of the dance. Back in Samoa in the 19th century the person who performed the dance was the high chief's son or daughter that was a virgin. [citation needed]
The film was produced and directed by Lisa Taouma, a New Zealand film maker of Samoan ancestry. [1] [2] It features Samoan tatau artist Tyla Vaeau Ta’ufo’ou of an indigenous tattoo studio on K’ Road called Karanga Ink. In the film she returns to Samoa to learn more and reconnect. [3]
The word tattoo, or tattow in the 18th century, is a loanword from the Samoan word tatau, meaning "to strike", [2] [3] from Proto-Oceanic *sau₃ referring to a wingbone from a flying fox used as an instrument for the tattooing process. [4] The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow.
Only men get the tattoo, not women. However, Samoa has traditional tattoos for both males and females. The traditional male tattoo is the Soga'imiti. The female tattoo is the malu. In a similar legend, Taema's sister Tilafaiga was the mother of the Samoan goddess of war, Nafanua, the daughter of Saveasiʻuleo, god of the underworld Pulotu.