Tattoo festival

A man getting a tattoo tapped into his chest

Tattoos or "tatau" have been an important part of Samoan culture for thousands of years. The art declined in the 18th century with the arrival of missionaries, but is still a common and important practice. The tradition tattoo for men starts at the waist and continues to knees, while the traditional tattoo for women is smaller and covers most of the thighs. The traditional method is performed by tapping the ink into the skin. The artists uses a special tool made of a wooden handle with a sharp animal tooth connected to the other end. This is dipped in ink and then rapidly tapped with another stick as it is moved along the skin in the desired line to imbed the ink (I took a video of the proccess but the internet is too slow to upload it). The skin must be held taught and blood and ink must be constantly wiped away from the tattooed area. From what I've heard and observed, it is an extremely painful and long process. Large tattoos, like the traditional ones, must be completed in multiply sessions, and each session may last for hours.



The tapping tools



The tools and techniques have not changed very much over thousands of years, although it is now an option to get tattooed with an electric gun rather than the traditional, and more painful tapping method. It is easier to create smaller details, as well as curved lines with the gun than with tapping.

 

Traditional women's tattoos


The tattoo festival in American Samoa takes place every October and was started by the owners of Tisa's Barefoot Bar. The festival starts on a Friday night and continues until Sunday aftertnoon. People who have gotten tattoos show them off and there are contests with a variety of categories for all the artists involved in the festival. Anyone can come and get a tattoo as long as they put their name on the waiting list. There are artists who do the tapped tattoos, as well as ones who use a gun.

Wilson, one of the tapping artists there creates very unique and personal tattoos. He likes to get the know the person he will be tattooing and then design something that fits with that person's character and personality. You can tell him where you want it and the approximate size, but after that you just have to faith that he'll create something you'll like.

Kasey getting her tattoo

After being at the festival for about half an hour and watching a lot of people show off their tattoos and get tattoos, Kasey decided she should put her name on the waiting list for a tattoo! "I can always decide not to do it later," she said. But 20 min later, armed with her Vailima, she was getting the outline of her tattoo drawn on with a sharpie. She chose the gun rather than the tapping method but from the look on her face it seemed like it was pretty painful still.

The final product

Her's turned out pretty cool, so then I decide I should get one too--a sleeve covering my left arm. Haha just kidding!! (Don't freak out mom and dad! No ink for me!) I'm not ready for something so permanent, not to mention painful. But they are really interesting to look at on other people.