Transcript
The tatau meaning "to mark" is a long standing traditional Samoan practice. For men, it is the pe'a... dense tattooing which completely covers the lower body from waist to knee.
The malu is the equivalent tattoo for women and covers the legs from the upper thigh to behind the knee, but is not as dense as the pe'a.
Cultural consultant Mary Autagavaia says the tatau is like a history book.
"The tatau is actually about our life. When you look at the tatau itself, the way that we do it, and the manner in which it's done, and the actual manifestations of that tattooing on the body is actually a history book. It's telling the history of the people, so the tatau is very much part of our lives. It's about the way we live our lives."
Last June, Auckland hosted the first ever fono or meeting attended by tufuga ta tatau or master tattooists from both Samoa and New Zealand.
Ms Autagavaia says the tattooists all agree they want their clients to be safe.
"All the tatau craftsmen, I should call them, agreed that they want people to be safe. They want people to be educated around that, but they also saw that we agreed that the community had to take some responsibility like before you go ge a tatau, ask these questions, what health and safety practices do you use? What are the cultural protections aspects that they follow."
Registered nurse, Josephine Samuelu, says she was able to collect data on infections caused by traditional tatau.
"When you compare it to, for example, surgery that is done in a similar way where there is an open wound, the infection rate for traditional tatau is much less."
Ms Samuelu says when looking at why a client has been infected, everything from hygiene to cultural knowledge and the well-being of the person is examined.
"It is really important for the client to listen to the tufuga's instructions, so things like sleeping on a fala Samoa because we know when you are sleeping on the fala, the ventilation is much better rather than sleeping on a bed. Not going out in the sun, but using an umbrella to protect the wound because the wound is open. There's also the medical advice to adhere to as well and that advice is also given by the Tufuga."
Radio broadcaster So'omalo Iteni Schwalger went to Samoa this year to get his tatau done.
For So'omalo, he was in line in his family to do his pe'a, but what motivated him to do it now was to be able to have his grandparents witness it.
So'omalo says he had concerns beforehand, but was reassured when he met with his tufuga who explained the procedure.
"The hygiene standards were so high. The tufugas, the kosos, the solos, they were all washing their hands before they put their gloves on. The gloves were stored in plastic containers, so they were kept away from anything. Any time that any of my tattoo had to be laid on the floor they would lay out plastic sheets. We watched them sterilise the needles at the end of the day."
So'omalo says he did not get infected after receiving his tatau.
He says he was well informed as to how to care for his tattoo and how to clean it thoroughly to avoid infection, during and after the process.
"After every day they would go over how to massage the tattoo, sleeping on the mat to ensure that the ink and things like that would be pushed down, how to bathe and wash it. I had to shower every three to four hours, so even in the middle of the night, I had to wake up and shower. They were very strict on that too. Every morning when I came in for the next session, they checked my tattoo and fortunately for me, they never raised any concerns."
So'omalo says taking on board the cultural aspects of how to care for your tattoo as well as using appropriate medicines was crucial to keeping safe.
"They taught us so much on how to care for it, during the sessions and after the sessions ... I didn't take any antibiotics. The closest thing was the antiseptic cream that we had to put onto the tattoo at the end of each day and they actually recommended a certain brand that I actually found out when I came back that the nurses recommend."
Le Va supports the tradition of tatau, respects the tufuga, and promotes safe and healthy tattooing to maintain cultural traditions.
It has welcomed feedback from the community.
This is Sela Jane Hopgood.
