Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Symbolism - Samoan Tatau

Tatau aka Pea is a traditional Samoan tattoo, that covers the waists to the knees.

At that time, there were only two families that had the ability to tattoo. Suluape was one of them, he was currently residing at the University Of Auckland were at that time Falaniko Tominiko wanted an Tatau.

Before Tominiko, went ahead with the progress of the tattoo he had to ask for permission from his parents. At first his parents were scared, that he could not handle the pain and that the progress would fail and bring big shame to the family.

It is recommended that when getting tattooed there is someone doing it together with you. Most people only get a Tatau as a way of showing it off, but really it isn’t that way. The tatau is a symbol of Bravery and Service.

Tatau isn’t tattooed with an ink machine. Tattoo designers often use Boar Teeth to do the tatau. After using this, it has to be washed even if you're still using the same ink to ink someone else, this will prevent infections.

It takes more than days to get the tatau done, one man tried doing it within 2 or 3 days and ended up with a huge amount of blood loss. Once you have completed the process, an egg will be cracked on the persons head, lifting of the tapu.

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