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Men who live like women in Samoa have been warned they could be cursed and die if they get tattoos with designs traditionally worn by the country's females.
Males who are raised, dress and behave as women are a traditional part of society in Samoa and other parts of the Pacific, often in families where there are too many boys.
Known in Samoa as fa'afafine, the men dress and live largely as women and even have their own beauty pageants. But the president of the Samoa Fa'afafine Association, Roger Stanley, has warned some are tempting fate by getting tattoos that are traditionally worn only by women.
The word tattoo comes from the Polynesian word tatau, and bodily designs sometimes have religious or social overtones in Samoa, especially those known as malu, worn traditionally by women on their thighs.
"We are all aware as Samoans that if a malu or tatau is tattooed without the agreement of the family its results are fatal," Stanley told the Samoa Observer newspaper.
"No one plays around with this art and treasure of Samoa, it's too sacred," he said.
Editor of the paper, Mataafa Keni Lesa, said according to superstition if a male is tattooed with a malu it can cause both the wearer and the tattooist to die.
- AAP
