On any given day, around what I would imagine to be a sophisticated conference room made of soundproof glass, long hardwood tables, and state of the art ergonomic spinning chairs, filled with equally smart looking men and women, in their immaculate suits and ties, you will find a beautiful woman, with fair skin, straight hair and beautifully shaped dark brown eyes.
At first, you could be forgiven if you mistook her for being an Asian, as her features would lead you to believe that she could be of the same ethnicity as most of her colleagues, after all, this would be the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila Phillipines, - a multilateral financial institution that lends and give grants mainly to the governments of the Asian and Pacific regions. But lucky for you, on any given day in that conference room, she would most probably be wearing a smart knee length skirt with a colourful top, or a classy knee length flowery dress, and you would see a line of black dots circling around her knees like a crown, and if she turned her back to you, you would most likely be treated to see the Malu motifs on the back of her knees, on the sensitive area just above her calves. Maria Melei Tagiilima is a Country Specialist for the Pacific Department of ADB. She looks after ADB’s program of assistance to the Marshall Islands and Palau, a similar role she had with Tonga, Cook Islands, Kiribati, and even Samoa at one stage, while working for over 7 years with the ADB office in Suva, Fiji.
I approached her earlier this week to share with me her experience in getting her malu as I became inspired to complete an article which would serve as a resource or guide for other women who are contemplating venturing into the exotic yet highly dangerous (and from what I've heard so far) excruciatingly painful process of getting the malu.
However, before we continue, I just want to highlight some points for our possible non-Samoan audience (or even not so knowledgeable Samoan brothers and sisters trying to understand more) about what a malu is all about.
What is a Malu?
Without going too much into the origins and traditional history of the malu in this article (as more is to follow after this post), today we look at the malu as the traditional tattoo for Samoan women which signifies heritage, independence, strength, courage and identity and so much more, all different and unique to its bearer.
It runs from the start of the woman's thighs reaching all the way down below the knees. It is traditionally used to signify the rank of a Taupou or a Paramount Chief's daughter in the village. A young woman of important rank in the traditional village ranking system, who would do the siva/taualuga or traditional dance for grand village events. Today, centuries later, as with many other constantly changing aspects of the Samoan culture, who and why women are getting the malu done has changed too. Today as I've learned through my researched interviews with over 20 remarkable women who have survived the cutting pain of the au (the traditional instruments from sharks' teeth or boars' teeth in some instances, used to penetrate the skin and drive the ink inside permanently),each woman has her own reasons for getting her malu, and because Samoan population has multiplied significantly, and the matai system has seen a spike in titled men and women, the genealogical pool of eligible women have also therefore increased tremendously, which can explain the argument around the resurgence of the malu in the past decade - which some say have devalued the meaning of the art and what it stands to represent in Samoan culture.
Why do Samoans and Polynesians in general take the associated risks of death from infection or AIDS to venture into the traditional art of Tatauing, where a lot of blood is spilled and a lot of pain is imposed on the body?
I love Albert Wendt's take on this question:
'Tatauing is part of everything else that is the people, the aiga, the village, the community, the environment, the atua, the cosmos. It is a way of life that relates the tufuga ta tatau to the person being tataued and their community and history and beliefs to do with service, courage, masculinity, femininity, gender, identity, sexuality, beauty, symmetry, balance, aptness, and other art forms and the future because a tatau or a malu is for the rest of your life and when you die your children will inherit its reputation and stories, your stories, stories about you and your relationships. The tatau and the malu are not just beautiful decoration, they are scripts/texts/testimonies to do with relationships, order, form and so on. And when they were threatened with extinction by colonialism, Samoa was one of the few places where tatauing refused to die. Tatau became defiant texts/scripts of nationalism and identity. Much of the indigenous was never colonised, tamed or erased. And much that we now consider indigenous and post-colonial are colonial constructs (eg the Church)'. That ladies and gentlemen is the deeper truth below the skin.
Anyhow, leaving our history lesson behind and going back to our spectacular subject matter at hand.
The Seed
Maria is a graduate of the Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand (BCA) and later the University of the South Pacific USP Suva, Fiji (MBA and Gold Medal Award Winner). She shares her home in Manila with her husband of nearly 10 years,Viane Tagiilima and their eight year old son Heni.
Viane(who is also a graduate of USP, (BA & MBA) has a background in Finance and Economics) has done well for himself. He headed the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance in Samoa prior to becoming Director of Finance of the Pacific Theological College in Fiji, when he moved there to join Maria and their son. He was her pillar of strength for both her malu and in her life. "He has sacrificed his own career for mine and for our son, and for that I am grateful," she said. Viane was the first person she approached when the seed started inkling in her mind. For Maria, it was at first a desire to carry on what had become a family tradition, with an aunt already clothed in the traditional sacred art back in 2008. From then on she was itching for the skin tearing pain, but the time was either never right, or she could never find a soa or partner willing to share the process with her, as part of a traditionally required protocol in order to commence the tattooing ceremony. She asked some friends whom she knew were keen, but they too had time in their way. Some had already completed their malus and so the blaze fuzzed out a little.
Patriotic and proud are words that correctly define this woman's link to her identity and Samoaness (for lack of a better word).
Whenever there's a rugby tournament anywhere around the world with Samoa or any Pacific Island country participating, you can be sure to hear from Maria on her Facebook page. When there's a Samoan or Pacific Islander visiting Manila, you can be sure to see pictures of a kava session, led by prayers and a feast gathering of Samoans and Pacific Islanders in her home. She truly lives and breathes her culture this way. So it almost sounds like fate chose the right timing for her.
In 2012, when Samoa celebrated her 50th Independence, she travelled to Apia, to join a childhood friend Makelita Lealaitafea-Aiono who had also shared with her the same desire to get the malu – this was their way to mark such an auspicious occasion for Samoa. As it happened, Mrs Aiono's husband was related to the Su'a Peter Su'a tufuga. Both ladies were charged a discounted price of $1,000 tala each from the usual $1,500 tala. The day was finally upon them both.
Thee DAY
On the Day, only a few of her friends in Samoa and Fiji knew that she would be getting her malu done. She still went to attend the Independence celebrations at Mulinu'u earlier in the week, with the hopes to take the looming ceremony off her mind.
She had already gained the blessings of her grandmother who had offered to pay for her malu and she was assured she would be praying for her all day. Her husband was with her every second of that day.
"Although I have only been blessed with one child, I had Heni naturally and I always say that I cannot imagine any pain more so than that a woman experiences when giving birth. I also cannot imagine anything more joyous than when you hear his first cry and when this bundle of joy (and responsibility) is placed in your arms for the first time. That was my mindset when I decided to do this (malu),I could overcome the pain for 4 hours (I was in labor for over 12 hours so no sweat) because I knew the great feeling that would come after … and it was that. "For me, the pain kind of numbed after the first half hour or so. The most painful part was the bone of your knee, but since that was the final part as well, it signified you are coming to the end so it was tolerable. I also think that being an accident-prone kid (was always breaking something one way or the other), my level of pain tolerance had built up over the years".
She also found ways to be occupied and distract herself from the pain. What will a girl ever do without facebook?
"I thanked God for inventing FB (facebook) and internet which kept me occupied lol! I had my phone with me the whole time, so I finally had the courage to text La’i (a close friend) in Fiji to let her know. I also needed to be brave and not show sign of being teary at all. We had so many visitors dropping by … Fr Mika … some of my kids from Fiji (Samoan students who attended the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji whilst she lived there, that she and her husband took under their wings whilst they were based in Fiji), it would have been so embarrassing to cry like a baby infront of them".
Their malu ceremony was extra special in the sense that it was part of the Tatau Convention, as part of the 50th Independence celebrations. It was held at a small faleo'o behind the Samoa Tourism Authority Fale in Apia, and the whole process was not only witnessed by visiting friends who dropped in to encourage them on, but also by curious tourists and random members of the public".
Maggie had brought prescribed creams with her recommended by her doctor, to assist with numbing the pain, but both women opted not to use it, nor did they take any panadols or antibiotics - they both wanted to have the process as authentic as possible.
"Su’a and his team were amazing, to sit for 8 hours (for both Maggie and I) and do what they do, its truly a God-given talent. I heard during the course of the day from some of the older members of the Tatau Samoa Association how it was in the old days, the traditional tools used, how it took longer than now, and how it was sometimes not safe hygienically. Su’a and his team made sure all their tools were disinfected before use … soaked in hot water while the smell of detol permeated in the fale. The cloth used to wipe the blood after every tap was also disinfected. Although the process was still traditional, cleanliness was first and foremost so I had no worries of contacting an infection.
Some funny moments were had as well along the way:
'The funniest moment… Maggie and I had decided to have the same design … however, as I was nearing the end of my first leg, Su’a realized that my taro legs were bigger than Maggie’s, hence, they needed to add an extra line of design lol! Awkward moment when Su’a commented … lelei kele le kalo I Fiki fai lava si lapopoa o gai ogavae ia (lol)'.
"Once completed, I went to the tap just outside the fale samoa and my friend Tara showed Viane the process of soaping and massaging to squeeze out the residual ink as much as possible, a process to be repeated at home every 2 hours. It was also traditional to sleep on a mat … I did this the first night but went back to the comfort of my mattress in subsequent nights lol! Viane was great in soaping and massaging my legs to squeeze out the residual ink at home, by the next day, much of it was gone. I rested the whole day and stayed out of the sun. Samoa was so hot so I went to our office in Apia and took advantage of the air con. That night, we joined the final celebration for the Tatau convention at Manumea Hotel. I stayed away from the alcohol but danced the night away in celebration.
We travelled back to Fiji that weekend, by then, the bruising had gone down and was all gone by the following week. There was certainly very minimum pain after and I was able to walk around quite well. I must admit I had it easier than others from stories I hear".
Identity Affirmation:
'I always admire ladies wearing the malu, in my mind, it was the ultimate expression of my identity as a tamaita'i Samoa. I always heard that for the men, it’s a sign of courage and great bravery. I can totally understand that if you have to endure one or two weeks of pain to get it (malofie - the male's tatau or tattoo) it is the ultimate victory. A lot of people have commented to me that I am so brave to have gone through it, but for me, the fact that I was ‘brave’ was only secondary (or maybe not a consideration at all). It was really an affirmation of my identity as a Samoan. Having lived outside Samoa for over 10 years now (plus the 8 years I was in NZ for schooling), I never feared that I would ever lose touch with my culture. I felt that it made me more patriotic actually as I am forever promoting Samoa to all my friends and colleagues, which drives a lot of them crazy sometimes (lol!!!). So getting a malu was part of that patriotism. It is also why I don’t shy away from showing it as it does attract people to ask me about it, and it gives me the opportunity to do my spiel on the most beautiful country in the world' - Maria Melei Tagiilima.
What are your thoughts around the ongoing debate about how a malu should be worn?
'I wear my malu with pride. You asked about the ongoing debate that a malu should be ‘ufiufi’ unless the proper occasion arises -whether it’s right or wrong, people are entitled to their opinions; however, for me, the decision to ‘showcase’ it in my normal life is a personal decision. I did not change the way I dress after I got it (apart from not wearing short shorts anymore which was timely as well as I got older (lol)! I still wear shorts, skirts and dresses up to my knees, as before. I wear puletasis when the occasion calls for it. My old rules about dressing remain, no pants to church and when I am on mission for work to any of the island countries I work in (even though it’s the norm in Cooks and some of the North Pacific countries), I always wear a lavalava when I go to the faifeaus place, or to church for anything, around the house when we have malos, etc, again these are the norms of the life I was brought up in, they did not change when I got my malu. I truly believe though that it is a personal decision on how you ‘wear’ it. Working in such a multicultural organization like ADB, Samoa is literally a dot on the map for a lot of people. People in Manila have no idea where the Pacific is, let alone our small Samoa. My ‘malu’ in a way is my way of telling people to sit up and take note … it also helps distinguish me from the many Asians that I work with here,'.
Final Words:
'I think you will find everyone’s story will be different. I am looking forward to reading your blog. I see a lot of debate about the malu. I stay away from it because I truly believe at the end of the day, it is something personal. I think we are so privileged to have such a tradition that we can opt to partake in. I do agree with some thoughts that it’s become a trend, an accessory for some. I believe in ‘showcasing’ your malu, but do not like the way it’s been done by others but then that’s their personal take. I truly believe the malu and the tatau belongs to the Samoan people and much as I admire non-Samoans wanting to get it, I think that its true meaning is lost if you do not have that affinity with the land, the culture, the people. I have no problem with people getting a sleeve, a taulima, a tauvae, most of which are done by machines anyways. But the tatau and the malu are sacred to Samoa, and dare I say it, should only be worn by its people'.
'I wear my malu proudly, as it says I am a proud Samoan. O au o le tamaita'i Samoa. I wear it in honor of a country I proudly call home, in honor of my strong forefathers, both men and women, in honor of my grandmother who taught me to be me and no matter where I am in the world, to carry myself proudly and never forget where I am from'.
Maria’s story is the first of a series of stories (that I will be featuring on my blog over the next coming days, weeks and months) from different women with different backgrounds and all different personalities sharing their stories of their malu. An experience that is very personal and sacred for many.
This initiative I designed with the idea of putting as much documented resources out there to assist anyone wishing to learn more about the malu, and as a resource or guide, motivation even, for those who are contemplating the malu’s journey. Women – you will no longer be alone!
I thank Maria for her courage in sharing her story with myself and the rest of the world. This blog is about My Journey – which is made up of a lot of different stories and I am privileged to share her story and the stories of all the other equally wonderful and courageous women that you will read about in this Forum.
Fa’afetai.
