Tatau : a history of Sāmoan tattooing / Sean Mallon and Sébastien Galliot.

Includes bibliographical references.

Tatau: ancient traces -- Tatau: European encounters and observations, 1722-1900 -- Tatau, Persistence and change, 1900-2000 -- Tatau as a ritual institution, 2000-2010 -- Tatau and its globalisation, 2000-2017.

"The Sāmoan Islands are virtually unique in that tattooing has been continuously practised with indigenous techniques: the design of the full male tattoo, the peʻa, has evolved in subtle ways since the nineteenth century, but remains as elaborate, meaningful, and powerful as it ever was. This richly illustrated cultural history is the first publication to examine 3000 years of Sāmoan tatau. Through a chronology vivid with people, encounters and events it describes how Sāmoan tattooing has been shaped by local and external forces over many centuries. It argues that Sāmoan tatau has a long history of relevance both within and beyond Sāmoa, and a more complicated history than is currently presented in the literature"--Publisher information.