Tunuma (container for storing tattooing implements)

This set of Samoan tattooing tools was made in Samoa by Su'a Sulu'ape Alaiva'a Petelo, a leading tufuga tatatau (tattooing expert). Tattooing in Samoa is a specialist trade, practised by members of specific family lines.

Manufacture
The tool kit consists of several small, finely-crafted tools known as ‘au. Each consists of a small bone comb with finely sharpened teeth (fixed to a shell plate), and a wooden handle to which they are both attached. The instruments are made for precision in order to create the beautiful lines and motifs of Samoan tatau (tattoo). When tattooing, the tufuga tatatau dips the comb section of the ‘au in black pigment and then strikes the ‘au so that it perforates and deposits the pigment into the skin. Until the late twentieth century, the pigment was made from the soot of burnt candlenut. Today, commercial inks are more often used.

The 'au come in different widths, each designed to render a different quality of line. Some fill in large dark areas, while others are used to make very fine lines and dots. When the tools are not in use, the tufuga stores them in a wooden tube-like container called a tunuma. Made from the hollowed out trunk of the pandanus tree, the tunuma is left open at both ends, with one end slightly wider than the other. Inside, a piece of barkcloth or rag holds the `au in place, pointing inwards so the teeth of the combs are not damaged.

Tunuma that survive in museum collections today are plain and have no applied decoration. However, this example of a tunuma made in 1996 has a different shape, carved elements and a decorative fibre binding around its top edge. This form of decoration is similar to that on a tunuma seen by Te Rangi Hiroa in Samoa in the 1930s, which he described as being “covered on its outer side by a close check plaiting of the single thick coconut husk fibres…”.[i] At the time, he considered this form of decoration to be unique. Another example of a tunuma thought to be from Tonga, in the British Museum, is similar to the Samoan tunuma in shape but intricately carved, possibly by a matapule in the Tongan court.

Acquisition
These items were purchased from Su'a Sulu'ape Alaiva'a Petelo during the 7th Festival of Pacific Arts in Apia, Samoa in 1996.

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[i] Te Rangi Hiroa, (Peter Buck) Samoan Material Culture. Bernice P. Bishop Museum.Bulletin 75.Hawaii.Honolulu, 1930. page 639