<P> LDS Apia Samoa Temple </P> <P> As with other Polynesian cultures (Hawaiian, Tahitian and Māori) with significant and unique tattoos, Samoans have two gender specific and culturally significant tattoos . For males, it is called the Pe'a and consists of intricate and geometrical patterns tattooed that cover areas from the knees up towards the ribs . A male who possesses such a tatau is called a soga'imiti . A Samoan girl or teine is given a malu, which covers the area from just below her knees to her upper thighs . </P> <P> Albert Wendt is a significant Samoan writer whose novels and stories tell the Samoan experience . In 1989, his novel Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree was made into a feature film in New Zealand, directed by Martyn Sanderson . Another novel Sons for the Return Home had also been made into a feature film in 1979, directed by Paul Maunder . The late John Kneubuhl, born in American Samoa, was an accomplished playwright and screenwriter and writer . Sia Figiel won the 1997 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for fiction in the south - east Asia / South Pacific region with her novel "Where We Once Belonged". Momoe Malietoa Von Reiche is an internationally recognised poet and artist . Tusiata Avia is a performance poet . Her first book of poetry Wild Dogs Under My Skirt was published by Victoria University Press in 2004 . Dan Taulapapa McMullin is an artist and writer . Other Samoan poets and writers include Sapa'u Ruperake Petaia, Eti Sa'aga and Savea Sano Malifa, the editor of the Samoa Observer . </P> <P> In music, popular local bands include The Five Stars, Penina o Tiafau and Punialava'a . The Yandall Sisters' cover of the song Sweet Inspiration reached number one on the New Zealand charts in 1974 . King Kapisi was the first hip hop artist to receive the prestigious New Zealand APRA Silver Scroll Award in 1999 for his song Reverse Resistance . The music video for Reverse Resistance was filmed in Savai'i at his villages . Other successful Samoan hip hop artists include rapper Scribe, Dei Hamo, Savage and Tha Feelstyle whose music video Suamalie was filmed in Samoa . </P>

The majority of land in a samoan village is owned by