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.
Maulu'ulu adjacent row. Proficient dancers are judged by the expressions of the face (smiling) and head, along with the grace and animation of hand and finger movements and smooth transitioning footwork. The seated and kneeling formations of the Samoan maulu'ulu are the most visible component of the Tongan Ma'ulu'ulu analog genre of Tonga. The Tongan ma'ulu'ulu in its current stylistic performance is more akin to the Samoan Sasa. The Manu Samoa rugby team used to perform a lively version of the ma'ulu'ulu as a pre-game warm-up ritual until 1991 when the siva tau was choreographed (based on the Maori haka made