My first experience of the traditional Samoan Tatau (tuh-tah-uw)was in 1990 at a Volleyball tournament in Melbourne Australia. I saw a young man enter the stadium and remove his track pants to reveal what I thought at the time to be an intricately patterned pair of bike pants. I pointed the bike pants out to my Samoan husband noting the beautiful tribal design thinking they would be something he would like and it was then that I first found out about the pe'a (pay-ah), a traditional tattoo that covers 65% of the body from waist to below the knee, and yes, everything in between.

I actually did not believe my husband when he told me about the tatau, and would not be satisfied until I had seen this tattoo close up, so he took me over to meet the young man who let me have a look at his beautiful Samoan Tatau and I have been mesmerised by them ever since.

The art of adorning the body with the traditional tattoo, called tatau, has been practised in Samoa on both men and women for over 2000 years, and I am glad to say I am not the only westerner who mistakenly took them for garments.

When Europeans first discovered the Samoan islands in the early 1800's a ships sailor wrote of the people there in this way: "They talk politely and behave very courteously, in no way barbaric or gruesome. They don't paint themselves, as the natives on the other islands do, but on the lower part of the body they are wearing cleverly woven, silk trousers."

If you are ever fortunate enough to see one of these beautiful tatau with your own eyes you will understand why from a distance they can be mistaken for clothing as the intricate patterns cover such large areas of skin it is difficult to believe at first that a person could undergo such physical trauma.

The tools used in traditional tatau are the Au (comb) which is made from a short piece of bamboo or light wood and a piece of turtle shell bound at right angles at one end. Attached to this is the comb made from bone or boars teeth, though today the combs are sometimes fashioned out of metal. The second stick is like a small mallet which is used to endlessly tap tap tap the ink soaked Au into the surface of the skin. The ink is made from the soot of burnt candlenut shells mixed into a smooth paste with coconut oil. This ancient form of ink is still used today.

Even the somewhat simple tatau designs can take many hours to complete, 7 to 12 hours for an arm or leg. The pe'a however can take many days and weeks, with the tapping beginning at dawn and continuing till dusk if the subject can bear it. The ritual begins again the next day unless inflammation requires a day or two to heal before resuming. Overall, the entire pe'a can take up to 3 months to complete and up to a year to completely heal.