A Samoan master tattooist is concerned about the exploitation of the sacredness of the traditional art form by other Samoan tattooists.

He has vented frustration at a post by a Tonga singer Melenau Lino who claimed to have had a 'Tongan malu.' The tattoo was done by a Samoan tattooist named Tulouena Mareko.

Su'a Suluape Alaiva'a said he was angry and sad at the same time. He claimed that the Tongans have a different name for their tattoo and it is not called a 'malu'.

Su'a told Samoa Observer that this lapse was caused by Samoan tattooists and something he's trying to eliminate. He has called this selling the sacredness of the 'tatau Samoa' to other people who are not Samoans.

"I've been trying for years to come up with a law that will protect the sacredness of Samoa's tatau and malu for future generations," Su'a said.

"I'm still trying, the Malofie Association is trying to come up with a way to avoid these kinds of problems." 

Su'a said he wanted to correct this and advise all the tattooists of Samoa, that there is no 'malu' in Tonga.

He said tattooists are trying to make money and forget that what they do is sacred and needs to be conserved for future generations.

He said, Tonga only have some designs of their own and this was revived by a Tongan tattooist, which is fine to him if they use their own designs and name them whatever they want but not 'tatau' or 'malu'. He said these belong to Samoans only and it's sacred.

Su'a said this issue will be addressed to the Malofie Association and will continue to find ways to protect the tatau and malu even if the way it's done has been modernised.

Tongan tattoos are called tatatau and have not been in practice for more than two centuries according to research. However, it has been noted by explorers and documented by sailors like James Cook and Abel Tasman as Tongans having tattoos.  In a University of Auckland paper, researcher Amelia Voran-Vaihu said, "Contemporary Tongans have had our tatatau (traditional Tongan tattooing) stripped from us. It is commonly accepted that colonisation has decimated many indigenous cultural practices."