Tatau is a beautifully designed and richly illustrated retelling of the unique and powerful history of Samoan tattooing, from 3,000 years ago to modern practices.
The Samoan Islands are virtually unique in that tattooing has been continuously practiced with indigenous techniques: the full male tattoo, the pe‘a has evolved in subtle ways in its design since the nineteenth century, but remains as elaborate, meaningful, and powerful as it ever was.
This cultural history is the first publication to examine Samoan tatau from its earliest beginnings. Through a chronology rich with people, encounters, and events it describes how Samoan tattooing has been shaped by local and external forces of change over many centuries. It argues that Samoan tatau has a long history of relevance both within and beyond Samoa, and a more complicated history than is currently presented in the literature.
It is richly illustrated with historical images of nineteenth and twentieth century Samoan tattooing, contemporary tattooing, diagrams of tattoo designs and motifs, and with supplementary photographs such as posters, ephemera, film stills, and artefacts.
Sean Mallon is Senior Curator of Pacific Cultures at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. He is the author of Samoan Art and Artists: O Measina a Samoa and co-editor of Tangata o le Moana: New Zealand and the People of the Pacific. His exhibitions include Paperskin: The Art of Tapa Cloth and Voyagers: Discovering the Pacific and Tatau/Tattoo. He has been a council membe...
