Pe'a

A pe'a is a traditional male tatau (tattoo) of Samoa. It covers the man's body from mid-back, down the sides and flanks, to the knees.
Traditional Samoan tattooing is an extremely painful process. The tufuga ta tatau (or tattoo master), uses handmade tools of bone, tusks, turtle shell and wood, and the pe'a is only done the traditional way and never with European tools or needles.
The tufuga ta tatau dips his cutting tools into black ink made from the soot of burnt candlenut shells, and then punctures designs into the skin. The cutting tool, or "needle," consists of a short piece of bamboo or light wood with a piece of tortoiseshell bound at right angles at one end. A little bone comb is bound to the lower broad end of the tortoiseshell. The larger the comb, the greater the area on the skin is covered with fewer strokes. The master uses a small mallet to repeatedly tap a short handled instrument. 
The tattooing process has aspects of cultural ceremony and ritual, and has a strong meaning for the one who receives it. The tufuga ta tatau works with one or two assistants, often apprentice tattooists, who stretch the skin and wipe the excess ink and generally support the tattooist in their work. The process takes place with the subject lying on mats on the floor with the tattooist and assistants beside them. The assistants to the tattooists are referred to as the solo, a Samoan word describing the act of wiping the blood off the skin. Family members of the person getting the tattoo are often in attendance at a respectful distance to provide words of encouragement, sometimes through song.
Receiving a Pe'a is a rite of passage for a man. The pain is so intense that some of those who wear it can remember no other pain greater than it. The sessions last as long as twelve hours with the rests or breaks. At the end of each day the receiver must bathe in salt water to purify the wounds and friends wake him every couple hours so that he can turn so that bedding doesn't stick to these same wounds.
There have been rare cases of death from the massive blood loss. Worst than death for the Samoan male is the unfinished Pe'a. This is seen as cowardly and shames not only the man but his family as well.
Sources of information:
http://www.polynesia.com/polynesian_culture/samoa/samoan-tattoos.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%27a
http://www.pasefika.com/culture/article/15/sa/tatau-samoa-intro