Traditional Samoan tattooing is on public display after a Sacred Mark Symposium was launched at the UNITEC campus in Mt Albert, Auckland.
Master tatau artist makes mark
Traditional Samoan tattooing is on public display after a Sacred Mark Symposium was launched at the UNITEC campus in Mt Albert, Auckland.
Around 70 people attended the First Mark ceremony last Friday featuring master tatau artist Su’a Petelo Suluape who will spend the next couple of weeks tattooing a pe’a (male tattoo) and malu (female tattoo) as a lead up to the symposium on April 18 and 19.
Suluape has made the special trip from Samoa to complete the pe’a and malu on siblings Naylor and Christine Owen.
The demonstration has created quite an interest since it began last Friday with many curious to see traditional Samoan tattooing.
Visitors as far as Japan, South Africa and Germany have come to see the demonstration taking place at Unitec’s Fale Samoa at Building 1.
For pe’a recipient Naylor Owen, undergoing the painful procedure was not something he decided to do overnight.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to get but it’s taken me years to actually get to this stage,” he says. “I asked my grandfather if I could and he was sweet about it. I probably wouldn’t have got it if he said no.”
Naylor also had to weigh up his religious beliefs to see if getting a pe’a fitted into this.
“The first issue was my faith and how I stood with God but once I looked into it and researched more about it, my decision was made easier.”
Being part Samoan and part Welsh, Naylor says some people may think he is getting a pe’a to be closer to his Samoan side but is not the case.
He says people are always going to question his heritage despite being raised by his Samoan mother.
“I’m getting it because I am Samoan. Anyone who’s been through this journey will probably say that you can’t help but be closer to your culture because of what you’ve been through. It’s not something you take lightly.”
Once Suluape has completed the pe’a on Naylor, he will then begin the malu on Christine.
Both Naylor and Christine will then undergo the traditional ‘sama’ ceremony on the final day of the symposium.
The Sacred Mark Symposium include an array of Pasifika guest speakers including, Unitec’s writer in residence, Albert Refiti, Samoan photographer Greg Semu and Dr (Professor) Ngahuia Te Awekotuku from the University of Waikato who has an extensive background in Tamoko (Maori tattoo).
The symposium will be held over two days – April 18 and 19 – at Unitec’s Mt Albert Campus.
Source: UNITEC
