Tatau: A History of Sāmoan Tattooing

Recommended by Therese Lautua, College Fellow in Indigenous Religion, Committee on the Study of Religion, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

This book is visually stunning, and presents historical and contemporary views, narratives, and photography of Sāmoan tatau. As an indigenous Pacific Catholic myself, I found it funny to read that the Marist Catholic missionaries abandoned their attempts to ban the practice of tatau in the 19th century, for Sāmoan willpower was too strong and their endeavor to convert locals was failing.