For the Ancestors: One Woman’s Malu – School Journal Level 3 November 2019

Matalena Leaupepe once saw tatau everywhere. “For the Ancestors: One Woman’s Malu” tells the story of Samoan-born New Zealander Matalena Leaupepe’s journey towards getting a malu – a tattoo. It is a highly personal story that combines information about the process of getting the malu with Matalena’s changing thoughts and feelings over many years.

Keywords: ancestors, au, ceremony, culture, design, faʻa Sāmoa, family, Fiji, harmony, honour, journey, leadership, legend, malu, pain, peʻa, pride, responsibility, ritual, Sāmoa, service, soa, spirits, spiritual, support, tatau, tattoo, tattooing, tāupou, Tilafaigā, Taemā, toso, tufuga tā tatau, Pacific