Resumen:

Implemented by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Division of the Ministry of Education and Culture, this preparatory assistance request aims to support the nomination of Tatau Samoa (Traditional Samoan Tattooing) to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Tatau Samoa is among the oldest continuous tattooing traditions, transmitted through direct apprenticeship from master artisans. The pe’a (male tatau extending from wait to knees) and malu (female tatau applied to the thighs) carry profound cultural, social and spiritual meaning within the Samoan way of life. The practice encompasses physical technique, ceremonial protocol, oral traditions, cosmological knowledge, and the production of traditional tools. This element is at risk due to a declining pool of active tattoo artisans, disruption to the apprenticeship transmission system, and the impact of globalization and modernization on tattooing processes, methods and ceremonies.