From tattoos to bark cloths, Samoa keeps proud traditions alive

Tapping into one of Samoa’s most important cultural traditions.

Here in a cultural village in the capital Apia demonstrations of traditional tattooing are being shown off.

The gentle but distinct tapping sound resonates as an artist inks a man’s body with pigment into the skin using traditional tools.

‘Tatau’ is a Samoan term for traditional tattoos reserved for men, which compromises a dense pattern covering the lower body.

The ritual traditionally marks a rite of passage for Samoan men.

But there are signs that some of Samoa’s cultural heritage is being eroded, and so village demonstrations like this are keeping ancient arts alive within the community.

Lesa Losefo Ahkuoi, a volunteer at the Cultural Village says: “They try to show their lifestyle and the way they live outside in the village, a small village. But that’s where we are. They’re coming over here and try to impress them how we are.”

Under a large fale, an open-sided house in Samoa, a group of village women gather to weave ‘ie toga’ or traditional fine mats made from the pandanus plant.

Known for its soft, silky finish, the finely hand-woven mats have high cultural value for Samoans, and often are exchanged at important occasions.

Weaving is one of several cultural heritages the Samoa Tourism Authority chose to showcase to international delegates and dignitaries during the Commonwealth meeting last October at the Cultural Village in capital, Apia.

British King Charles and Queen Camilla were among the VIPS who visited the centre, which usually hosts daily cultural demonstrations throughout the year for tourists.

Taimalelagi Tutila Farao the Communications Officer from the Samoa Tourism Authority says: “Samoa is very proud of its culture and its tradition. And this is what we’re trying to do. This is what we do daily and that maintains and retains our culture.”

“We have people from all over the world travelling to Samoa just to see our culture,” he adds.

Samoan women receive ‘malu’, which is less dense and more delicate in design and is etched from the upper thigh to below the knee.

The process is known to be painful and can take days or weeks to complete.

Under another fale, 20-year-old Maopo Aukusitino works on painting designs on a siapo (also known as tapa), a cloth made from the bark of paper mulberry tree.

Maopo Aukusitino says: “The most challenging part is the plant because sometimes the plants grow so much and we have to find more plants because we need the skin of the plants to make the siapo. So that’s the hardest part. And also it’s a process of removing the skin of the plant smashing to make siapo. And that’s the challenge of making siapo.”

Stripped bark is pounded flat and dried before artists paint patterns using natural plant dyes and brushes made from pandanus leaves. Designs on the cloth often feature motifs inspired by local flora and fauna. Siapo is also often given as a gift at weddings, funerals and formal occasions.

Aukusitino, who is from a village in Samoa’s western island Savaii says she and her mother are the only people in her family who still carry on the tradition of making ‘siapo’.

“No, Hardly anyone of my age doing siapo, even in my family, my sibling doesn’t know and they don’t know how to make this siapo. It’s only me and my mum doing it in our family. So I always have my mum doing the siapo so that we can sell and make an income for our family,” she says.

Samoa takes prides in its Polynesian culture and heritage that is said to date back more than 3,000 years, but there are concerns that fewer youths are taking up traditional crafts, especially in the urban areas.

“Kids are spending their time on the phone. They’re not going out to the culture stuff that we normally did back in probably the 80s, in the 90s and the early 2000s,” says Tutila Farao.

“Right now, the 2020s, it’s a whole different environment and that’s something that we as adults and as Samoans should be worried about because we have to make sure that these young kids have some knowledge about their own culture and tradition.”

There are even examples of Samoan cricket on the sports field in the village.

Taimalelagi Tutila Farao says: “We don’t want to lose this. We don’t want to be like other Polynesian countries and other Pacific countries where their culture and their tradition is totally lost and completely lost because they adapt to another lifestyle. For Samoan, it’s an everyday thing that people carry with pride.”

The earliest human evidence of settlement on Samoa is from 2,900 – 3,500 years ago.

Europeans discovered the Samoan islands in 1722 and later, in the 1830s, British missionaries and whalers began arriving.

Colonial disputes between Germany, Britain and the United States took place before Germany took possession between 1904-14.

During World War I New Zealand ruled Samoa and continued to do so until 1961when it achieved independence.