文身是太平洋岛国地区波利尼西亚文化的典型特征，而萨摩亚是波利尼西亚传统文化传承较好的一个国家。萨摩亚口述传统中关于文身起源的故事有多个版本，现代人们对传统文身故事有着不同的解读。萨摩亚文身图案有着丰富深刻的内涵和象征意义，文身因性别不同而有不同的要求和图案，男性文身佩阿（Pe’a）和女性文身马卢（Malu）都各具特点和意义。对波利尼西亚人特别是萨摩亚人而言，文身是他们日常生活的一部分，是具有神圣意义和历史韵味的文化体现。波利尼西亚人的文身史，一定程度上是整个波利尼西亚文明发展史的展现。
Tattoos are a typical feature of Polynesian culture，and Samoa is a country with a very good heritage of Polynesian traditional culture. There are many versions of the story about the origin of tattooing in Samoa’s oral tradition，and now people give different interpretations to the story. Tattoos convey rich and profound connotations and meanings in Samoa，and tattooing designs and patterns are varied for different gender. The male tattoo Pe’a and the female tattoo Malu have their own characteristics and meanings. For Polynesians and Samoans，tattoos are part of their daily lives，an embodiment of their sacred culture and history. The history of Polynesian tattooing，to a certain extent，is a display of the entire Polynesian civilization history.
