Taema
Taema is the name of a female figure referred to in different legends in Samoan mythology.
Different Legends
One well known legend relates that Taema and her sister Tilafaiga are the Matriarchs of Samoan tatau. The sisters brought the art of tattooing to Samoa from Fiji. As they swam, the sisters sang a song that women get the tattoo, not men. But as they neared the village of Falealupo at the western end of the island of Savai'i in Samoa, they dived underwater to get a clam. When they emerged, their song changed. Only men get the tattoo, not women. However, Samoa has traditional tattoos for both males and females. The traditional male tattoo is the pe'a. The female tattoo is the malu. In a similar legend, Taema's sister Tilafaiga was the mother of the Samoan goddess of war, Nafanua, the daughter of Saveasi'uleo, god of the underworld Pulotu.
Taema was the name of a war god, incarnate in the kingfisher bird and was an omen in war.
Taema was a war god present in a bundle of sharks' teeth.
