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.
‘ie toga such exchanges were traditionally called "ʻoloa." This usage is corroborated in Tonga where these types of fine mats are referred to as "kie Haʻamoa" (Samoan mat) and "kie hingoa" ("named mats"), from the Samoan tradition of giving especially precious mats titular names. The Tongan cognate of "ʻie tōga" is "kie tōʻonga," while " ʻoloa" and "koloa" are also cognates. ‘ie toga A ʻie tōga is a special finely woven mat that an important item of cultural value in Samoa. They are commonly referred to in English as "fine mats" although they are never used as 'mats' as they only have