The Ritual
First things first with receiving a tatau, a formal agreement is made between the family and the tufuga, or tattooist. The family provides an offering of food, money, or fine mats or fusita. The participants gather and hold a kava ceremony or have a pastor or priest create a sacred space for the long process. Kava is a bitter drink used to promote relaxation and ebb the tide of anxiety.
Tatatau tools, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Tāmaki Paenga Hira
Next the tufuga makes the tools they will be using for the process. These tools consist of the varying sizes of combs with sharp teeth, turtle shell pieces to hold the needle-like teeth, and the stick. The long tool is the mallet, which is used to tap onto the needle tools. These are dipped into ink and placed on the skin and tapped with a mallet to puncture the skin.
The next step is to make the pigment. This is typically a black color. The tufuga will gather nuts and then he crunches them up. To get the right pigment without danger from the bad spirits he will entrust two women to burn the nut powder because the task is dangerous, and possibly could attract evil spirits. They do this in a shed, the fire must never be unattended to protect the pigment from the spirits.
Once the pigment is perfected the tattooing process begins. This process of tattooing lasts many days and in between each session the person getting the tatau must abstain from many things, walking alone at night, eat with the tufuga and from being sexually active. The person getting the tatau also has to shoo the flies away from the wounds with a fan or sly whisk and say silent prayers. The process is similar to a burial ceremony. This is possibly marking the death of the old childhood during the transition into adulthood. In the sacred room where the tattooing is done, will typically have the tufuga, his assistants, some family members and a few other people that sit in the room encouraging the recipient with prayer. The family takes turns at the recipients side for support.
Typical tatau symbols, Sébastien Galliot/Journal of Material Culture
Man with coconut oil and turmeric, Wild Samoan Turmeric, thecoconet.tv.
Finally, the closing ceremony or the anointment of the tattoo. This happens a few days after the tattooing and consists of the group involved in the process. In Ritual Efficacy in the Making, by Sebastien Galliot, he states about this ritual, “…this meeting begins with a moment of silent contemplation and a prayer said by a churchman or an elder from the patient’s family.” (2015, 119). This is signally the end, and the rebirth. The persons new tatua and status has changed, and this gives them a chance to think of their new life. In On Skin and Bone, an article about the many uses of coconut oil in Samoan culture, she mentions that in some Samoan groups an egg is smeared on the recipients head and a turmeric and coconut oil mixture is rubbed onto the body. This egg smearing and coconut oil turmeric practice is called samaga. (2018, 409-410) A long held practice from old indigenous beliefs. The tufuga is then given his pay for the process and his skills and at last it’s party time.