Ipu lama (coconut cup mortar and pestle)

The tool kit of the tufuga ta tatau (Samoan tattooist) is made up of several small hand-held tools and a selection of accessories. They are finely crafted and made to be precise. The form and function of these tools have changed little over time but conservation and hygiene concerns have led to changes in the materials from which they are made. The basic tool kit comprises a set of tattoo combs, a short wooden rod or mallet, a mortar and pestle and a palette for mixing the pigment.

Making tattooing pigment

This mortar and pestle set were made in 1996 by tufuga ta tatau Su’a Alaiva’aSulu’ape Petelo. The pigment used to be made from the soot of the candlenut (Aleurites sp.). Throughout the nineteenth and for most of the twentieth centuries this was collected in a small, specially constructed shed made from coconut leaves, woven closely together to stop wind penetrating. A small fireplace of three stones - two upright with one across the top, was built inside. Candlenuts strung on lengths of coconut midrib were burnt by an attendant between these stones with the soot collecting on the underside of the top stone. This was scraped off when a sufficient amount had collected and stored in a coconut shell for later use.[i] When required, the soot was ground up with a wooden pestle in a mortar made from a coconut shell; water was then added to produce a pigment of suitable consistency. Nowadays, commercial inks are used and, not so long ago, a mixture of kerosene soot and water was employed .[ii]

Acquisition History

This mortar and pestle are part of a full set of tattooing implements and accessories amde and purchased from Su'a Sulu'ape Alaiva'a Petelo during the 7th Festival of Pacific Arts in Apia, Samoa in 1996.

References

[i] Hart J.W., Samoan Culture. Ati's Samoan Print Shop. Apia, 1996. (First published, 1966). pages 7- 8

[ii] Grimwade, J., Tattoo Tricks catch on again among Samoans. Pacific Islands Monthly. September, 1993. page 43 and O’Meara, T., Samoan planters: tradition and economic development in Polynesia.: Rinehart and Winston. Fort Worth. Texas, 1990. page 74