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A Samoan woman with malu. Malu is a word in the Samoan language for a female-specific tattoo of cultural significance. [1] The malu covers the legs from just below the knee to the upper thighs just below the buttocks, and is typically finer and delicate in design compared to the Pe'a, the equivalent tattoo for males.
Samoan men who bear the pe'a body tattoo, as well as Samoan women who bear the malu leg tattoos often roll the waistband of the lavalava or tuck in the sides and rear portion(s) of the lavalava to expose their tattoo during dance performances or ceremonial functions (such as 'ava ceremonies), a style referred to as agini.
Women continued receiving moko through the early 20th century, [12] and the historian Michael King in the early 1970s interviewed over 70 elderly women who would have been given the moko before the 1907 Tohunga Suppression Act. [13] [14] Women's tattoos on lips and chin are commonly called pūkauae or moko kauae. [15] [16]
Only men get the tattoo, not women. However, Samoa has traditional tattoos for both males and females. The traditional male tattoo is the Soga'imiti. The female tattoo is the malu. In a similar legend, Taema's sister Tilafaiga was the mother of the Samoan goddess of war, Nafanua, the daughter of Saveasiʻuleo, god of the underworld Pulotu.
The word tattoo is believed to have originated from the word tatau. In Samoan mythology the origin of the tatau is told in a legend about two sisters, Tilafaiga and Taema who brought the tools and knowledge of tattooing to Samoa. The Samoan male tattoo (tatau) is the pe'a. The female tatau is the malu.
The traditional female tattoo in Samoa is the Malu. In Samoan society, the Pe'a and the Malu are viewed with cultural pride and identity as well as a hallmark of manhood and womanhood. ' Tatau is an ancient Polynesian art form which is associated with the rites of passage for men.
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The traditional male tattoo in Samoa is called the pe'a. The traditional female tattoo is called the malu. The word tattoo is believed to have originated from the Samoan word tatau, coming from Proto-Oceanic *sau₃ referring to a wingbone from a flying fox used as an instrument for the tattooing process. [67]