Pe'a

The Pe'a is the popular name of the traditional male tatau (tattoo) of Samoa, also known as the malofie, a term used in the Samoan language chiefly vocabulary and 'respect' register (gagana fa'aaloalo).

Description

The pe'a covers the body from waist to the knees. The word tattoo in the English language is believed to have originated from the Polynesian word tatau.

The tatau process for the pe'a is extremely painful, and undertaken by tufuga ta tatau (master tattooists), using a set of handmade tools pieces of bone, turtle shell and wood. The tufuga ta tatau are revered masters in Samoan society. In Samoan custom, a pe'a is only done the traditional way, with aspects of cultural ceremony and ritual, and have a strong meaning for the one who receive it. The tufuga ta tatau works with one or two assistants, often apprentice tattooists, who stretch the skin and wipe the excess ink and generally support the tattooist in their work. The process takes place with the subject lying on mats on the floor with the tattooist and assistants beside them. The assistants to the tattooists are referred to as the solo, a Samoan word describing the act of wiping the blood off the skin. Family members of the person getting the tattoo are often in attendance at a respectful distance to provide words of encouragement, sometimes through song. The pe'a can take less than a week to complete or in some cases, years.

Peña

Peña, meaning "rocky outcrop" or "rocky summit" in the Spanish language (Aragonese: Penya, Catalan: Penya), may refer to:

Mountains

Peça

A Peça (Portuguese) (also boa peça, peça da India, and pieza de India – Piece of India, Spanish) was a unit of value in the slave trade in West Africa through the Cape Verde Islands during the 16th to 18th centuries. A peca was the value of a healthy male or female slave between 15 to 25 years of age. Slaves between 25 and 35, and between 8 and 15 years were valued at 2/3 peça. Slaves outside this age range and those infirm were valued lower. The peça was used to establish quotas and tariffs.

References

"Peça". Sizes, grades, units, scales, calendars, chronologies. Retrieved 2007-01-20.  External link in |work= (help)