The Samoan tattoo is called a pea’a on the men, and a malu on the women. The pea’as encompassed the entire area from above the waist to below the knee, and were usually done in one go, taking perhaps a week or two. The teeth of the hoe-like striking instrument were carved longitudinally from the incisors of the wild boar, which in turn was affixed to a piece of turtle shell. The teeth were sharpened with a piece of coral, and if not kept sharp will cause a lot of tissue damage. Each tattoo design was unique to that individual and since it conveyed specific information about their status, rank, ancestry and abilities, it has accurately been described as a form of id card or passport, a kind of aesthetic bar code .
Various tools were used to pat the designs into the skin, a liquid soot-based pigment would be tapped into the open wounds, which then heals over to seal in the design creating a tattoo. Samoan masters made these tools from sharpened boar's teeth fastened together with a portion of the turtle shell and to a wooden handle.
the tattoos were given to warriors at various stages in their lives the more bare spots would give the impression of beginner or less experience on some islands like the Marquesas. In Apia a bottle of bluing was used in washing it lent the pigment a bluish hue as opposed to a reddish hue that some ferric oxide and carbon based pigments will exhibit. reports of deep blue tattoos in Tahiti and Samoa appear in the logs of explorers of the European sailors of 17th century, the pacific had long been colonized before then and was declining around 1700 b.p. in small areas of the pacific, Easter Island was almost completely abandoned at that time with a few families and priests. (to the left is an example of a
Marquesas Warrior Tattoo) The Marquesas tattoos were also labels of birth, rank, trade, and accomplishments like Polynesians in Samoa .
Families play a role in the tradition of the Samoan tattooing process, it is an event and needs to be witnessed, and used to be prerequisite to receiving a matai title. the women too; their designs are of a much lighter nature rather than having the large areas of solid dye which are frequently seen in men’s tattoos. The tattooing of women were mostly in sections across the legs and in cases across the arm and hand.
Samoan society has long been defined by rank and title, with chiefs (ali'i) and their assistants, known as talking chiefs (tulafale). The tattooing ceremonies for young chiefs and Kings, typically conducted at the time of puberty, were part of their ascendancy to a leadership role. The permanent marks left by the masters would forever celebrate their endurance and dedication to cultural traditions. The pain was extreme and the risk of death by infection was a concern; to back down from tattooing was to risk being labeled a “pala'ai” or coward. Those who could not endure the pain and abandoned their tattooing were left incomplete and family shamed if the task could not be completed, at one time tattooing was a very costly procedure .
The wife of the tattooer is also greatly honoured in her position of wiping the blood of the tattooed person. She is known and addressed as the Meana'i she is very well paid by the family. The tattoo specialist, or tufuga, in tradition is highly respected ,the right to perform tattoos in Samoa can be traced back to a person's ancestors and if the person's forefathers were known to be a member of a tattoo guild, then the person was permitted by hereditary to enjoy the same privileges. An experienced tattooed artist trains apprentice tattooers who worked under their supervision until they are allowed to perform independently
The Samoan tattooing process used a number of tools which remained almost unchanged since their first use. “Autapulu” is a wide tattooing comb used to fill in the large dark areas of the tattoo. “Ausogi'aso tele” is a comb used for making thick lines. “Ausogi'aso laititi” is a comb used for making thin lines. “Aumogo” small comb is used for making small marks. “Sausau” is the mallet is used for striking the combs. It is almost two feet in length and made from the central rib of a coconut palm leaf. “Tuluma” is the pot used for holding the tattooing combs.






I. O le Taga Tapulu (back and small of the back) In the first session the height to which the tattoo will rise is decided (Ano le Tua), this is always such that the top of the design will show above the lavalava. Then the va'a, pula tama and pula tele are outlined and the design filled in.
II. O le Taga Fai'aso (the posterior) The aso fa'aifo are completed around to the abdomen and the 'asolaititi are finished. Next to be added are the saemutu, which vary in number depending upon social status. A matai will have four an orator three and anyone else would have two. Where it meets the 'ivimutu at the anus it is called tafaufile, where it covers the perineum it is called tasele, where it covers the scrotum it is called tafumiti and the area over the penis is called tafito. Needless to say this is very painful.
III. Taga Tapau The lausae, an area of solid tattooing, is added to the thighs beneath the aso e lua.
IV. Taga o Fusi ma Ulumanu The fourth session is the tattooing of the ulumanu, from the center of the thigh up to the inner groin.
V. 'Umaga (the end) The final sessions involves the tattooing of the abdomen, the area that covers the navel being called the pute, and is apparently the most painful part of the whole process learning the craft over many years of serving as his father's apprentice. A young artist-in-training often spent hours, and sometimes days, tapping designs into sand or tree bark using a special tattooing comb, or au. Honoring their tradition.


In Samoa and New Zealand today you can't get a traditional tattoo without permission from certain people such as chiefs in the village since it does not record your status in the community
and would not make sense, however there are many modern Polynesian tattoo designs for people with an urge to have one.
Maori tattooing would usually start at adolescence, and was used to celebrate important events throughout life. The first tattoo marks the transition from childhood to adulthood and was done during a series of rites and rituals. Tattoo art was an important part of the Maori culture – in fact, people without tattoos were considered to be without status or worth.
Instead of needles, the Maori people used knives and chisels (uhi)
The tattoo ink for the body color was made from an organism that is half vegetable, half caterpillar (the caterpillar is infected by a certain kind of fungus that starts growing out of its head, killing the caterpillar). The darker, black tattoo ink used for the face was made of burned wood. when the materials were turned to carbon by way of firing, they were ground to a fine dust then mixed with a carrying agent which was normally watered to a fine fluid .Ta moko: literally the words ta moko translate as to strike or to tap. The term refers to the process of tattooing in the Maori traditions. Moko: the tattoo design itself – the finished product. The traditional Maori tattoo consists of bold spiral designs covering the face, the buttocks and the legs of the Maori men and in some cases down to the knees.

Haehae Lines
When you look at a facial Moko, whether the Mataora or Mata-kiore type, the one dominating component, other than koru, is the lines. These are prominent around the mouth, on the lips, up the forehead and on those deceiving cheek "spirals." Even the filling of positive areas comprises of lines, whether they be the hatch rec-linear or "ladder" type, the semi-curvlinear or "ray" type or even the more contemporary notched "chevron" type. The meaning of a single or common Moko symbol does not uniformly apply across all tribes or or clans so a comprehensive understanding can be difficult between wearers .

The Māori tattooing chisel, or "uhi" around was preferable bone material being from the albatross. Traditional Māori discovered that the albatross bone had a porous property which meant that it absorbed pigment, enabling the artist to work a longer line. Most tattooists, even today, have the same common desire to find a method by which they can achieve a longer line without having to re-load with pigment.
Some uhi were serrated knives used to carve the design into the skin and because of this were used primarily to carry pigment into the initial wound. However some of the finer uhi were straight edged, much like a regular knife. Once bound into place the chisel was dipped into pigment and with a second mallet type the stick was tapped into the skin carrying with it the pigment. chisels were the first used in the Ta Moko application process that caused the deep grooves as if the skin had been gouged like wood. Most uhi chisels, had a male dove-tail style end which was an insert into the end of a 10"-12" handle. They often had a hole carved into it which was used for lashing so the chisel would be held firmly within the handle. The gouged mokos appear as if someone had drawn a line and it had sunk into the skin, the ink line actually does sink in with age, the skin engulfs the line in some parts of the face, revealing only the carved line. After the Moko is finished the face would puff up and swell, but if a karakia was recited properly, then a beautiful moko would present itself once the swelling subsided.
For Maori the appropriate karakia (long religious chants) had to be recited by the tohunga in order for the moko application to be successful.

With the coming of new times new materials were used for moko, such as metal needles which left a smoother appearance (as opposed to the etched look). This smoother appearance was sometimes seen as more desirable than the etched look, though the application of moko with needles was seen by some Maori as not being an authentic moko.

The Maori are spread throughout
New Zealand and have a long and rich Culture, each area is the territory of a seperate family or sub family each with a seperate variation of the moko. The Moko identified your area although a complete reading of another's moko may be difficult, one could still identify where he or she was from . The women were not as extensively tattooed as the men. Their upper lips were outlined, usually in dark blue. The nostrils were also very finely incised. The chin moko was always the most popular, and continued to be practiced even into the 1970s. The male facial tattoo - Moko - is generally divided into eight sections :


1.Ngakaipikirau (rank). The center forehead area
2.Ngunga (position). Around the brows
3.Uirere (hapu rank). The eyes and nose area
4.Uma (first or second marriage). The temples
5.Raurau (signature). The area under the nose
6.Taiohou (work). The cheek area
7.Wairua (mana). The chin
8.Taitoto (birth status). The jaw
Ancestry is indicated on each side of the face. The left side is generally (but not always, depending on the tribe) the father's side, while the right hand side indicates the mother's ancestry. Descent was a foremost requirement before a Moko could be undertaken.
If one side of a person's ancestry was not of rank, that side of the face would have no Moko design. Likewise if, in the centre forehead area there is no Moko design, this means the wearer either has no rank, or has not inherited rank .

Tohunga-ta-moko is the traditional term used for a tattoo expert. The word tohunga means expert, and there are several terms used for different disciplines such as tohunga-whakairo (carving expert) or tohunga-rongoa (medicinal plant healing expert).
In modern times, the word tohunga means priest (the word itself, though, literally translates as 'expert'). It has evolved from the fact that all arts in te ao Maori (the Maori world) are god-given and appropriate rituals and observances needed to be made when completing an art form. So not only was a tohunga an expert in their chosen field, but they were also closer to the atua (gods) in that they were practicing a sacred art and knew all of the appropriate karakia (long religious chants) and observances to ensure no raruraru (trouble), spiritual or otherwise, eventuated

Moko is the most widely appropriated design in the world today when it comes to facial tattoos and the term "moko" is also appropriated. Being a taonga (treasure) of Maori, it is extremely offensive when moko has been appropriated by Pakeha (non-Maori NZers) and foreigners. The term "moko" should not be used for a facial tattoo that is not Maori. If one has not asked the permission of their whanau, hapu, and iwi (family, sub-tribe, and tribe respectively) then they have not gone through the proper channels before having it applied.
Being an intrinsic element of te ao Maori (the Maori world), moko signifies your dedication to your whanau, hapu, and iwi. It signifies your dedication to tikanga Maori (Maori custom and protocol), te reo Maori (the Maori language) and te ao Maori. It is not taken at all lightly, and is considered to be tapu (sacred). This is why misappropriation by foreigners is seen as a grave offense.
Kirituhi is another term for a Maori-style tattoo, one that uses Maori imagery but lacks any real cultural meaning, such as those that lack whakapapa or the long lines of genealogy which link all Maori at some point.
Maori-styled tattoo "kirituhi". Is simply not a "moko".

My Comments From: Needa 07 Aug 2008, 3:26 am Great piece!