During my last term break in April, I got a traditional
Samoan tattoo (tatau in Samaon). A
fellow PCV and I made the decision that we wanted to get our tattoos done
together and thought that term break would be the best time because we’d have
one week off of work, which would be beneficial for the tattoo and its
beginning stages of healing.
Pre-Tattoo
I had just arrived in Apia from Namua Island, and made my
way to the tattoo fale (open house)
that is located in the city’s cultural center. Unfortunately, no one was at the
fale. I decided that I’d return the following day; if no one were there, then
getting a tattoo at that time wasn’t meant to me. The next morning I went back.
It turns out there were people there! I approached the group of men who were
playing cards. One turned to me, so I asked, “Malo, o ai lou igoa?” (Hi, what’s your name?). “Sulu’ape,” was his response. Perfect! Sulu’ape was just who I
was looking for. I told him how a friend and I wanted to get a traditional
tattoo and asked if he was available that day. He told me to come back the next
morning.
So the following morning my friend and I got up early, ate a
big breakfast, “Our last meal before we get murdered,” as we put it, then made
our way to the fale. Sulu’ape got there right on time, which surprised me
because I’m used to island time,
which means that Samoans usually don’t arrive to appointments on time. If they show up, it’s often late… hours
late. My friend and I explained what we wanted done. I quickly drew a
kindergarten type drawing on a scrap piece of paper, which depicted two V like
shapes, and told him where I wanted the tattoo placed.
Because my friend lives on the island of Savai’i, we agreed
that she would go first because she would have to leave a few hours later to
catch the bus to the wharf, to get on the last boat of the day, whereas I live
on the main island of Upolu so could leave at anytime because I was taking a
taxi back to my village. Frequent readers of this blog may recount posts where
I’ve mentioned how uncomfortable buses are here, so getting a tattoo, then
sitting on someone’s lap for two hours, while being bumped and touched, gave me
a fright. At that moment I didn’t mind paying the $70 tala taxi fare (which is
a lot of money here), compared to the $6 tala bus fare.
As I’ve mentioned above, I was planning on getting the tattoo done second, and wasn’t mentally prepared to go for at least 3 hours, after I saw my friend get her tattoo, and knew what I was up against. Then… Sulu’ape looked at me and said “sau” (come). He had me sit in front of him, and began drawing lines on my back. My heart was beating out of my chest, thump, thump, thump. I was visibly shaking and all I could think was, “Oh f!*@, this is really happening,” thump, thump, thump. Sulu’ape saw me shaking and said, “Relax, I haven’t started yet!” My friend Madi was awesome and sat in front of me, instructing breathing practices to calm me down.
As I’ve mentioned above, I was planning on getting the tattoo done second, and wasn’t mentally prepared to go for at least 3 hours, after I saw my friend get her tattoo, and knew what I was up against. Then… Sulu’ape looked at me and said “sau” (come). He had me sit in front of him, and began drawing lines on my back. My heart was beating out of my chest, thump, thump, thump. I was visibly shaking and all I could think was, “Oh f!*@, this is really happening,” thump, thump, thump. Sulu’ape saw me shaking and said, “Relax, I haven’t started yet!” My friend Madi was awesome and sat in front of me, instructing breathing practices to calm me down.
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| Madi calming me |
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You may be wondering why I ended up getting the tattoo done
first. The reason is because my friend’s tattoo is a lot more complex and
curvy, so the outline needed to be done with a tattoo gun. At that moment, the
gun was being used on a tourist guy who was getting a half-sleeve tattoo, which
was taking a long time to complete. I must add: I felt like a bad ass getting a
traditional tattoo, while the male next to me, who is double my size, was
getting a tattoo done by a gun. Ha!
The Tattoo
There were several pillows on the floor. I was told to lay
stomach down. I could see the bowl of tools ready to tattoo me. The traditional
tool is a wooden handle with a stainless steel comb at the end. The stainless steel comb is the
part of the tool that tattoos, along with the help of another wooden tool that
is used to tap the tool with the comb. This creates a horrid tap, tap, tap sound.
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| This is a photo I took during my friend's tattoo. Nevertheless, the bowl and tools I've described above are similar. Also, their ink is manufactured. |
Sulu’ape dipped a tool in ink and outlined a section of my
back by placing ink dots in a row. I could feel the hands of two men stretching
my skin. Tap, tap, tap. The tattoo
has started. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
This went on for 2.5-hours. Throughout the tattoo I counted each tapping
session; some last 5 seconds, while others lasted 10 seconds or longer. I was
always relieved after each tapping session ended because I experienced a short
internal of a few seconds before the tapping started again. Also, these
intervals enabled the men who were stretching my skin to wipe off excess ink
and blood from my back. The most painful parts of the tattoo were on my spine
and my ribs. I could feel the tools sticking to those bones, and was told that
my ribs bled the most. Interesting enough, when my ribs were getting tattooed,
I was laying on my side. While the ribs were one of the two most painful parts,
I actually felt most at peace during this time. Perhaps it was because I was lying
on my side, which is a comforting position.
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| The beginning stages of my tattoo |
When the left side of the tattoo was finished, I sat up, and
my friend Michelle snapped a photo. I didn’t want to see it until it was all
finished. I actually like how the tattoo looks with just bands on one side, so
if I’d seen the photo at this point, I would’ve probably told Sulu’ape to stop
the tattoo. I’ve mentioned this to some friends who have said that they think
my tattoo looks better and complete with bands on each side.
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| Halfway finished |
At one point, I started talking, telling Sulu’ape the
designs I wanted. He told me, “Stop talking, I’ll tell you what the designs
mean once I’m finished.” He is such a sassy man. I found his personality quite
amusing. I had an idea of the designs I wanted, but as a friend mentioned
beforehand: “If you go into a traditional tattoo with a list of expectations,
you’ll end up disappointed. It is best to go in and let the tattoo artist do
their thing; after all it is an interpretation of their style and work.” So
once Sulu’ape practically shut me up, I remembered what my friend said. The
designs Sulu’ape put on me mean unity, family, youth, and beauty. How lovely! I
couldn’t be any happier with these meanings.
On several occasions Sulu’ape had to tell me to stop moving
and stop laughing. That’s right, I was laughing at times because the pain was
so unreal; I didn’t know what else to do but laugh. Yes, I laughed but I didn’t
cry—I think my body was in such shock, it couldn’t register the torture it was
experiencing. The only comparison I can think of: A traditional Samoan tattoo
feels like nails getting hammered into your bones.
During one of the intervals, I put my head up remembering
that I hadn’t taken the ibuprofen my Peace Corps nurse gave me. I was supposed
to take it before the tattoo started but as I’ve explained above, it began so
suddenly that the ibuprofen slipped my mind. So I took the tablets about mid-way
through. I’m not sure if it helped with the pain; I don’t think anything
could’ve helped relieve that terrible pain.
It was quite an experience. Women were fanning me because it
was so hot (and to keep the flies away), Sulu’ape and his staff smoked
throughout my tattoo (I didn’t know this until I saw photos on my camera.
Luckily the ashes didn’t burn me!), and there were drums and other instruments
playing traditional Samoan beats in the background. It was a cultural and
authentic experience, indeed. The only other thing I remember thinking (besides
what my friend said, mentioned above): “This is the most painful experience of
my life and I don’t think childbirth could be any worse.” At one point I felt
like I needed to vomit and cursed myself for eating such a large breakfast. Also,
at times Sulu’ape needed to sit on my legs, which was uncomfortable… and
painful.
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| Smoking like trains while tattooing me. This by far is my favourite photo taken during my tattoo! |
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| Madi was awesome, lending me her hands and feet to squeeze! Thanks! And thanks to Michelle who rubbed my legs. |
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| Michelle, Becca, and Madi watching my tattoo process. They're members in my group. |
As I was getting ready to leave, I asked Sulu’ape the price.
He jokingly said, “$6,000 tala.” It wasn’t anywhere near that price, but was
still a bit expensive. Special thanks to my family in America who helped me pay
for it; it was my birthday gift. How kind and awesome of them! Samoans are
always curious when they see my tattoo and the first question I usually get
asked is: “E fia?” (How much?). Even
strangers ask this question. Of course I don’t tell them, saying that my family
in America paid for it over the phone with their credit card. Well, this is
partially true. While I don’t like lying, if I didn’t tell this white lie, people
would think that I have a lot of money (Samoans think all white people are wealthy),
and I don’t want to be portrayed like that.
Post-Tattoo
I was in a taxi, on my way home. I was in so much pain. I
felt sick to my stomach. The ink stuck to my shirt. I just wanted to get home
and go to sleep. Once home, I showered, ate dinner, and then went to bed. Since
my tattoo is on my back and ribs, which happens to be the areas of my body I
lay on, I had no choice but to sleep on my stomach—a position I find so
uncomfortable and painful to my back. But this is how I slept for about two
weeks. School started the following week. Teaching attire for women consists of
a puletasi, which is a long
dress-like outfit. Puletasis are extremely uncomfortable and so hot, so I’m
usually covered in sweat by the end of the day. I believe puletasis and sweat
are the reasons why my tattoo got infected. Yes, that is right. My tattoo was
infected in two areas. I couldn’t understand how this happened because I washed
it twice a day everyday, and applied an appropriate treatment to it. After
doing some thinking, it had to be the sweat that caused the infections. And the
sweat is caused by puletasis and the humidity. Luckily my Peace Corps nurse and
a medical student friend of mine said that the infection isn’t as bad as I made
it out to be, and my tattoo wouldn’t be permanently damaged. They were right.
After applying antibiotic ointment for several days, the infections were healed
and the tattoo is fine. The tattoo took about two weeks to heal.
The Tattoo Addition
After doing some thinking, I wasn’t 100% happy with the
tattoo. When I explained what I wanted to Sulu’ape, I was so nervous. I said
that I wanted V’s so I got V’s. He gave me what I asked for and did a beautiful job, but in reality, I
wanted V’s that looked like wings. The endings of each band were so blunt. I
wanted them to be curvy, so about two months after my traditional tattoo I contacted
Sulu’ape and made an appointment for an addition. He told me to arrive at 9 am.
I got to the tattoo fale on time and waited and waited and waited. At about
10:30 am I called him. No answer. I kept waiting. I wanted to get it done. I
knew the pain that was to come, and had prepared myself for it; I didn’t want
to leave with the tattoo unfinished. At 11:30 am I called him again. He
answered. He told me that he would be there at 1:00 pm. Talk about island time! I told him that I couldn’t
wait that long because I’d miss the bus (yes, I was riding the bus this time!), so I had no problem getting the
addition done by the gun. I had already experienced the hell of a traditional
Samoan tattoo; I had no problem getting the addition with a gun so I could
compare the pain. He said that his son was at the fale and would do the
addition. I found the son and explained what I wanted done. The addition took
two-hours! That’s right, two-hours of pure pain, done entirely on my ribs. I
don’t know if the gun hurt more (at the time I thought it did), but it was
horrible; it was a different kind of pain than the traditional tapping. It felt
like a nail got hammered into my skin, and was moving up and down, digging
deeper and deeper. At times my entire rib cage shook.
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| He was very cheeky the entire time, but he's so darn cute, so I found it amusing. |
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| The tattoos on his legs are the traditional men's pe'a. The pe'a starts from the mid-stomach, and goes down to the knees, front and back.
Why a Tattoo?
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This tattoo was my first tattoo. Samoa, and Polynesia in
general, has a huge tattoo culture. Most Samoans are tattooed with the
traditional men’s pe’a, the traditional women’s malu, or just tattooed, which I
find so beautiful. I’ve seen many tattoos in my lifetime, and I’d say that the
best tattoos are Samoan. So Samoa was the place for me to get my first tattoo. Plus, it is Peace Corps Samoa tradition to get a traditional tattoo.
While my tattoo is representative of wings and my life (see explanation below), it also serves as a reminder: If I could join the Peace Corps, live two years in a foreign and undeveloped country, experience some of the hardest things I’ve ever encountered, sit (well lay) through a traditional tattoo, and survive it all, then I can do anything! The possibilities in my life are endless. I’m happy to have a permanent reminder of this.
While my tattoo is representative of wings and my life (see explanation below), it also serves as a reminder: If I could join the Peace Corps, live two years in a foreign and undeveloped country, experience some of the hardest things I’ve ever encountered, sit (well lay) through a traditional tattoo, and survive it all, then I can do anything! The possibilities in my life are endless. I’m happy to have a permanent reminder of this.
Will I ever get another tattoo? Unless my sisters want to
get a sister tattoo (my friend Madi gave me this idea), and I don’t think they
will, then the answer is NO! Don’t get me wrong, I think tattoos are beautiful
and I love how they look on other people, but they’re not for me. That’s why I
chose the location of mine: It can be easily hidden and only visible when I
want it to be. While it is large, it is discreet. If I got another tattoo, I
wouldn’t know where to put it. I’d like a tattoo to be placed somewhere in the
center of a body part or be symmetric. Well I took care of the symmetric
tattoo. The only other one would be a center tattoo, and that would have to be
on the back of my neck or spine (I find tattoos placed here to be beautiful, by
the way), but then those placements go against my reasoning of wanting a
discreet tattoo. I always think of formal events: I don’t want a tattoo to be
visible when I’m wearing a nice dress or while I’m at work, so therefore, no
more tattoos for me. Plus, the tattoo I have is HUGE as it is. There’s no need
for another one.
For the past 3-years, wings have been representative of my
life and my experiences. I’ve pushed myself to face my fears and do things I’ve
always wanted to do: hot air-ballooning, skydiving, traveling, walking a famous
pilgrimage, volunteering in foreign countries, attending music festivals, and joining the Peace Corps. The list can go on and on. I’ve
spread my wings and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.
Why Sulu’ape?
The Sulu’ape’s are the only tattooists Peace Corps Samoa
approves. Why? Well, because they practice hygienic tattooing, not to mention
they’re world famous tattooists. Plus, the Sulu’ape’s are one of the two
families who started traditional Samoan tattoos centuries years ago. How
awesome is that? The Sulu’ape who did my traditional tattoo is named Petelo,
who is the father. When I tell people that he was the one who did my traditional
tattoo, they always respond, “Ah, the old man.” That is how he is known. It was
an honor to get tattooed by him.
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| Here I am with the man who traditionally tattooed me, Petelo Sulu'ape, also known as "The Old Man." |
You can read more about the Sulu’ape family and traditional
Samoan tattoos here:
The Birthday Gift
I ordered a poster that describes the meanings behind the
Samoan designs. As a border I placed photos from my tattoo and my friend’s
tattoo. Since she is one of my closest friends here, I wanted to do something
special for her birthday. She loved the gift! Once I’m in America, I’ll make a
replica for myself.
Final Thoughts
I’m very happy with my tattoo, what it represents in my
life, and the Samoan meanings behind it. I was the first member in my group to
get a tattoo, and since then two others have got one. By the time our service
is finished in December, 7 of us will have a traditional tattoo and one will
get a tattoo done by gun. Not bad for a small group of just 11 people! Once
everyone has his or her tattoo, I’ll post a group photo displaying our artwork!
You can read more about Peace Corps and tattooing in Samoa here (on page 38):
Below you’ll find a video of my
traditional tattoo. It isn't available on mobile devices due to copyright issues with the song. If the video happens to get deleted/flagged, then I'll upload again without the song. Anyway, enjoy!
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