Te Tufuga ta Tatau
Sulu’ape Pili Mo’o
Tatau Master
Thank you for visiting my page…
Maybe you heard about it from a friend or social media, and that got you curious, or maybe it’s because the tradition spoke to you and brought you here… Regardless of the various reasons you could find yourself here, thank you for being here and welcome into my world.
More about Tatau
Artist's Bio
In the Media
Gallery
Calendar
Get in Touch
Only your trust makes it happen !!!!
Getting a traditional Tatau, is a spiritual, emotional and physical experience…
I have done and will always do the best I can in spirit and energy not to fail you or your given faith in my craft…
About tatau
Created by Gods and gifted to Humanity, Tatau is: “Writing the Spirit on the Body…”
It is how I got it, it is how I was taught, and how I’m giving and sharing it… It is all about belief…
“One can give, only if the other one knows how to receive.”
Getting a traditional Tatau, is a spiritual, emotional and physical experience…
I have and will always do the best I can in spirit and energies to not fail you or the given faith in my craft…
The traditional Tatau experience
Our Process,
the journey
Receiving traditional ink is a very personal and deep experience regardless of which Polynesian style. Pili Mo’o Tatau has been known for his preservation of the tradition not only in the physical elements of tattooing but also in the symbolic meaning of the patterns and their representation and philosophy. He is also one of the last practitioners to handcraft his tools in order to preserve the sacred traditions and values of tool fabrication.
**Consultation is very important in the sense that each piece is unique and personal.** It is not flash art and no two tattoos created are alike. All of Pili Mo’o Tatau’s art varies as do the people who wear his art. Coming with an intention and vision of what you want your piece to represent is just the beginning…
Finding out who you were, who you are, and who you aspire to become all while incorporating relative patterns and movements is also his gift. Energetically everyone leaves having learned something whether it be about themselves or about the tradition in addition to a powerful and important piece. The tradition is quite the experience waiting to be had.
**Consultations are appointment only and via video chat. It’s a less impersonal method for us to get to know each other prior to sitting in ceremony. **
Divine Guidance
Father, nothing would ever happen without You choosing me, sharing your knowledge, your passion with me and teaching me your “way of life…”
Thank you for your Faith in me, your Love and Belief, I will never forget and always be grateful… Continuing to follow your path as you asked me to and to protect it…
Fa’a Fetai Tele Lava Sua Sulu’ape Paulo II !!!
Living Art
(BIO)
It was at the beginning of the ’90s,
when Mo’o started tattooing thanks to Chime, the known tattooer of Moorea. It was from him that he began to learn the meaning of the Marquesan symbolism.
He worked alongside Chime for a few years until he stopped in Madrid and encountered Mao & Cathy’s tattoo studio where he stayed for 5 years. While tattooing with Mao and Cathy learning to correctly use a tattoo machine, Mo’o was nonstop tattooing his now known black ink, acquiring several international awards. While with Mao and Cathy Mo’o was also traveling back and forth to Polynesia to feed his desire to acquire more knowledge of Polynesian tattoo culture.…
The Keeper and the Guardian
It was during his travels back and forth that Mo’o meets ‘the One” who will radically change his life, the worldwide known Samoan Tatau Master, recognized as “The master of the Masters” “Sua Sulu’ape Paulo II”. Sua Sulu’ape Paulo II then took him under his wing for almost 5 years, teaching him not only how to use the traditional tools, but how to build them. He also taught Mo’o the Philosophy of what he used to call “His Way of Life”. He gave Mo’o the deepest Spirit of this philosophy until his tragic end in 1999
His passing left Mo’o as his “last pupil”, making him the keeper and guardian of the tools and philosophy, as Sua Sulu’ape Paulo II asked him to continue the way he had opened.
Mo’o did not fail with the promises made to his “Father” and did not stop traveling. He attended almost 400 tattoo conventions, disclosing the art of Tatau, delighting the public in 5 continents, giving seminars, receiving several prestigious awards, to defend the Spirit of his “Father’s Way of Life”. That’s when he remembered his “Father’s” request to change his name from Mo’o to “Pili Mo’o”: the “Samoan Lizard”…
Pili Mo’o was called to Samoa in 2001 by Sua Sulu’ape A. Petelo, now chief of the Sulu’ape Family to proudly receive the title of : “Te Tufuga ta Tatau Sulu’ape Pili Mo’o”. Also being accepted and recognized as a Samoan Matai and Tatau Master…
in the Media
Guy Fieri gets a Traditional Polynesian Tatau
Tatau Master feature on Insider
Gallery
For more samples please visit our Instagram page by clicing the button below.
Calendar
Mar
1 - 31 Maui, Hawaii
Apr
1 - 10 Atlanta, Georgia
12 - 26 Patterson, New Jersey
May
22 - 30 California
i got your back
The story of your traditional Tatau will be with you for life and does not end once your Tatau is finished…
So if you have any doubts, fears or questions,
I am always a phone call/email away.
Schedule Your Consultation
Receiving traditional Tatau is a very personal and deep experience.
A free, half-hour consultation via Skype, What’s App, or FaceTime is not only necessary but essential to the visceral nature of the total experience and so much more: “not so impersonal” as an email would be…
Contact Penina for an appointment.