Tatau Samoa - the Samoan tattoo song

Talatonu Sulu'ape sings the tattoo song as my sister gets her malu (traditional Samoan women's thigh tattoo) in Lefaga, Samoa.

Tatau Samoa - The Samoan Tatoo Song

C G
'O le mafua'aga lenei ua iloa
C
O le taga o le tatau I Samoa
F
Ole Malaga a teine e toalua
G
Na fe'ausi mai I Fiti i le vasaloloa

C G
Na la aumai ai o le ato au
C
Ma si a la pese e tutumau
F
Fai mai e tata o fafine
G C
'Ae le tata o tane

2. A o le ala na tata ai o tane
I na ua sese si a la pese
Taunu'u I gatai o Falealupo
'Ua va'aia loa o le fai sua ua tele

Totofu loa lea o fafine,
Ma ua sui ai si a la pese:
Faimai e tata o tane,
'Ae le tata o fafine

3. Silasila I si tama ua ta'atia
O le tufuga lea ua amatalia
Talofa ua tagi aue aue
Ua oti'oti solo o le 'autapulu tele

Sole sole ia e loto tele
O le ta'aloga fa'atamatane
E ui lava ina tiga tele
Ae mulimuli ane ua e fefete

4. O atunu'u uma o le Pasefika
Ua sili Samoa le ta'uta'ua
'O le sogaimiti ua savalivali mai
Ua fe'iafi mai o na fa'a'ila

O asofa'aifo, fa'amuli'ali'ao
Fa'aatualoa, selu fa'alaufao
O le sigano fa'apea fa'aulutao
Ua ova I le vasa laolao

This is the known origin
of the permitted Tatau in Samoa
The journey of two sisters
Who swam in the ocean from Fiji


They brought with them a basket of the tatau tools
and the song they repeated
it said only the women recieve the tatau
and the men do not

The reason why the men receive the tatau
is the sisters sang their song incorrectly
When they arrived at the coastal waters of Falealupo
They saw a huge clam
They dived for it
and when they came up they sang
It said only the men receive the tatau
and the women do not

Look at the young man lying down
as the tufuga begins his work
Pity the crying of the young man
The stinging bite of the autapula teeth

Young man be brave
it is a game of the men
Although it is very painful
Yet afterwards you will be proud of it

Of all of the Islands in the Pacific
Samoa is well known for its tatau
The young men with his tatau walking by
As the decorations of the tatau shine

Category:

Music

Tags:

• tatau
• samoa
• samoan
• tattoo
• malu
• lefaga
• tufuga
• sulu'ape
• legend

[arleneclaar]

Louisa. . .which sister is this???

[kiwidiva]

@arleneclaar this is sisi!

[saLOVE19]

Dude, your sister is maddd brave! I swear, when we were there for holiday last year I couldn't even bring myself to do a normal one with a needle in apia. Ahaha. Mad props! :)

[kiwidiva]

all 3 of us sisters got the malu - not just her! she just got the best video because i shot it! good idea to be wary of tatts in samoa. my cuz got the flesh eating bacteria (from a needle tatt) and i got a bad strep infection! you gotta be BRAVE and you gotta go thru the pain to get the mana! i got heaps of mana now!

[linuxguru1968]

Where can I get the words and chords for this song? It's a simple 1 4 5 progression but I'd like to be able to sing the lyrics too.

[kiwidiva]

the words are posted. click on the 'more info' button of the description. the chords are posted too.

[punchyourface]

love this song".Samoa is a strong race we still keep our old ways never talk back to our perants and respect our elders. Getting a Pe'a is a honor to your family name and strenth and speak the old ways of Samoa. you don't have to be full Samoan to get one but you have to know the Fa'a Samoa ways of your family. We Samoa people are still here 100% strong.

[Tanisha0782]

I think cultural tattoos are beautiful. I am african american and is planning to get an west african inspired tattoo as a tribute to my heritage.

[MsBronx05]

The tatau was originally brought over to Samoa from Fiti by two sisters Taema and Tilafaiga. This story is often heard in the Tatau Samoa Song . The two women who traveled from Fiti to Samoa singing to let the women have the tatau and the not the men. Upon reaching Falealupo they saw a large clam in the water and swam below to see it. By the time they reached the water's surface, their song had changed to let the men have the tatau and not the women.

[mmyREESEEH]

.love it ( = its a really unique video God bless !

[lotonuuweb]

Faasilasilaga! lotonuu.blogspot (dot) com

[ira4484]

the only think i can say it wow

[KERSENTERTAINMENT]

awwww...awesome...was supposed to get one too by The Late Paulo Suluape when i was younger but he told my dad never to get my body marked..so he respected him and i never got it done..

[LuauMamoe]

how can no one else not post this song? been trying to find it for awhile. thank you so much for posting it!

[jamesgithinji59]

I think tradition is everything and its beautiful that the whole family participated in the tatau ceremony is just amazing . Where i come from we don't do tattoos but we make small cuts our bodies to distinguish between clans in our tribe and also for respect of the elders. thanks for posting this i enjoyed a piece of your culture. and the song is soothing im sure thing sing it to calm who ever is getting the tatau.

[daniyellowjello]

ow