Renowned Samoan master tattooist, Su’a Suluape Petelo has hit out at what he says is the continued abuse of the traditional art, which he says is disrespecting Samoan culture.
He points to the case of a woman being tattooed with the tatau, traditionally meant for men, and also a fa’afafine getting a malu, traditionally meant for women, as examples of the cultural desecration.
Su’a was speaking at the Malofie Exhibition at the Samoa Tourism Authority Fale focusing on teaching the students about the values and the history of the tatau.
He told media he firmly believes, as a traditional tattooist, with many years of service to the country, doing a tatau on a woman will destroy and disrespect the bond between the tufuga (traditional tattooist) and a woman.
Su’a believes an older brother who died in a traffic accident was ‘karma’ for tattooing a tatau on a woman, which angered many people.
He said he was even more disappointed when he asked him why he did what he did, but he said it’s because no one had done it before.
“Then the next thing we knew, he got into an accident and died and I told his children that this is the real reason why he died because karma never sleeps,” he said.
Su’a said he is happy to see many young Samoans stepping forward with the courage to get inked.
He added that it’s a good thing seeing more females coming forward to be tattooed, and now there’s more women than men.
“The goal is for more people to wear this Samoan treasure with pride,” he said.
Source: Samoa Observer
