What is the meaning of tatau?
to mark
The literal meaning of tatau is ‘to mark. ‘ But the word tatau embodies more than literal translation. Its meaning covers a continuum from the concrete (the literal meaning) to more abstract cultural concepts that are embedded in the word’s linguistic qualities far beyond its base definition.
How is tatau done?
The word tatau originates from the tapping sounds of the tool made during tattooing. This primitive tattoo tool was made of bone or boar husk sharpen into a comb style shape with serrated teeth like needles. It was then attached to a small piece of sea turtle shell that was connected to a wooden handle.
Do Samoan men tattoo their genitals?
The traditional pattern covered every portion of skin, even the genitals and buttocks, in straight lines, angles and geometric shapes all in black. Male Samoan tattoo patterns do not include circular or curved lines, but the females might.
How long does it take to get a tatau?
The design is typically geometric, covering the body from torso to knees and consisting mainly of straight lines with larger areas of solid dye. Originally, the tatau process took several months up to one year to complete. This process allowed the individual time to heal between sessions before continuing.
Why do Polynesians get tattoos?
Historically there was no writing in Polynesian culture so the Polynesian’s used tattoo art that was full of distinctive signs to express their identity and personality. Tattoos would indicate status in a hierarchical society as well as sexual maturity, genealogy and ones rank within the society.
What layer of skin holds tattoo?
dermis
To make a tattoo permanent, a tattoo artist punctures the skin with hundreds of needle pricks. Each prick delivers a deposit of ink into the dermis, the layer of skin that lies below the epidermis, which is populated with blood vessels and nerves.
How much does a tatau cost?
Others said the annual licensing fee, at a cost of $386, was just a revenue-gathering exercise by the council. A key difference for Samoa tatau is that it is often done in residential homes, and many tufuga who perform it actually travel from Samoa to do it in New Zealand before flying home again.
Is the tatau real?
The tatau meaning “to mark” is a longstanding traditional Samoan practice. For men, it is the pe’a, dense tattooing which completely covers the lower body from waist to knee.
How painful is a Samoan tattoo?
The male tattoo, or pe’a, starts at the torso, covers the front and back, and finishes at the knees. Samoan tattooing can be very painful and those who cannot finish are labeled a coward, said tattoo artist Li’aifva Imo Leni, among the few Samoans who still practice the traditional art.
What are Samoan mixed with?
The unique mixture of Austronesian and Papuan ancestry in Samoans is possibly related to the initial settlement of the islands and suggests that groups with somewhat different ancestry settled Samoa, compared to nearby Tonga, Dr Cochrane says.
Did Samoans create tattoos?
Both ancient art and archaeological finds of possible tattoo tools suggest tattooing was practiced by the Upper Paleolithic period in Europe. The oldest discovery of tattooed human skin to date is found on the body of Ötzi the Iceman, dating to between 3370 and 3100 BC.
Does tattoo ink go into blood?
The particles of ink injected into the skin can travel through your lymphatic system and into the bloodstream. It’s this ink that proudly displays your chosen tattoo design. The body clears some of the ink away by way of special repair cells called macrophages. The macrophages carry the ink to the closest lymph nodes.
What is the Samoan tatau?
The Samoan 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 Samoans are the only Polynesians who continued to practice the tradition of that tatau since pre-european contact.
What is the purpose of the book Tatau?
Tatau celebrates—or, at least, acknowledges the inevitability of—these evolutionary departures, seeing them as the fruit of an endless search for personal and cultural meaning. Exhaustively researched, and enriched with interviews and striking documentary photography, it is a fitting tribute to a vital 3000-year-old tradition.
What does the Tatau do to Jason?
The Tatau itself seems to be magical; as Jason grows stronger and wiser, the Tatau also enhances all of his physical abilities, most notably his strength, speed, stamina, intelligence, instincts & accelerates his healing speeds. The Tatau spreads across his arm by itself, with new elements burning into place with a glow of light.
How hard is it to get a tatau?
For a young male, getting a tatau, or pe’a, which covers the body from waist to knee, was not to be undertaken lightly (the female malu is lighter and its application less ritualised). Engaging a tufuga was expensive, requiring gifts of food and fine mats, and the procedure, which lasted many weeks, was painful and cloaked in formalities.