History of Samoa who brought the tools necessary to create the art of tatau, or in English tattoo, whence came the traditional Samoan "malofie" (also known as "pe'a" for men and as "malu" for women). The foundation of the cultural tradition of Samoa, or the fa'asamoa came with the rise of the warrior queen Nafanua. Her rule instituted traditions of the fa'amatai or local family and village and regional chiefly systems, a decentralized system. Her niece Salamasina continued under this system and their time is considered a golden age of Samoan cultural traditions. For a long period, a Tongan aristocracy ruled in Samoa.
Samoan proverbs Samoan proverbs Samoan proverbs form an important part of the traditions and culture of Samoa where oratory, poetry, metaphors and subtelty in language art forms are held in high esteem as a form of communication in ceremony and ritual of fa'a Samoa. The importance of oratory is reflected in Samoa's indigenous chiefly system, fa'a Matai, where titleholders are either "ali'i" or "orator" ("tulafale") status. These Samoan proverbs are taken from the first Samoan dictionary, "A grammar and dictionary of the Samoan language, with English and Samoan vocabulary," first published in 1862. The proverbs were collected and authored by Rev George