staff; the two figures are 41 mm. wide by 26 mm. thick and 77 mm. high to bottom of notched flange; decorative lashing commences immediately below flange with a number of close transverse turns (4) which change to multiple lozenge pattern (5), for rest of first interspace except a few transverse turns at end; sennit-covered staff is here 33 mm. wide by 24 mm. thick and interspace length (a,6) is 161 mm. c, side view of second set (a, 2): width, 40 mm.; thickness, 25 mm.; height, 69 mm.; similar to first set (b) but with ears, hollowed out; next interspace (4) between figure sets, 179 mm. long, 31 mm. wide, and 22 mm. thick, d, middle set of upper and lower figures (a, 3): similar to others but ears have fused into one and there is no notched flange between figures; greatest width, 38 mm.; thickness, 25 mm.; height of reversed sets, 107 mm.; e, lower intermediate figures (a,4): similar to c with ears hollowed out; width, 39 mm.; thickness, 28 mm.; height, 65 mm.; intermediate space above (1) with transverse sennit lashing, width, 30 mm.; thickness, 20 mm.; length, 183 mm.; intermediate space below (2) with multiple lozenge pattern; width, 31 mm.; thickness, 25 mm. length, 158 mm. f, lower end figures (a,5): similar in all respects to upper end figures (b); width, 43 mm.; thickness, 30 mm.; height, 87 mm. g-k, front views of figures immediately above; upper limbs (1) and lower limbs (2) similarly marked throughout.
In describing the Atiuans, Cook (20, pp. 183, 184) says: "They were punctured upon the legs, from the knee to the heel, which made them appear as if they wore a kind of boot." Later he says (20, p. 195) of the same people: "Some of the men were punctured all over the sides and back, in an uncommon manner; and some of the women had the same ornament upon their legs. But this method was confined to those who seemed to be of a superior rank."
Williams (81, p. 67), who visited Aitutaki in 1821, says of the people, "Some were tattooed from head to foot"; and he (81, p. 110) says of the high chief, Makea, whom he met on his discovery of Rarotonga: "…his body is most beautifully tattooed, and was slightly covered with a preparation of turmeric and ginger, which gave it a light orange tinge, and in the estimation of the Rarotongans, added much to the beauty of his appearance."
In the English edition of John Williams' "A Narrative of Missionary Enterprises", London, 1838, a colored frontispiece from an oil painting by G. Baxter represents the Rarotongan chief Te Pou (incorrectly spelt Te Po) tattooed from neck to toes but with the face unmarked. The tattooing design consists of curved lines encircling the body and meeting a vertical line down the middle of the anterior surface. The arms are covered with similar lines, with a downward curve in front; and the thighs and legs are covered with more horizontal lines, the lines are spaced. On the knees are turtle motifs with the outline of the kneecap forming the body and slight projections forming the four flippers, and the head is projected upward. As the human figure wears the Aitutaki headdress (fig. 39, a), and as G. Baxter was a London engraver, it is quite certain that the painting was composed in London from verbal information given him by missionaries and that the tattooing design depicted cannot be accepted as accurate. The picture does indicate, however, that Te Pou was extensively tattooed.
The general term for the tattooing process is ta tatau (ta, verb to strike or tap; tatau, results of the tapping). In Mangaia, the process is termed ta tipatipa. The coined English word of "tattoo" is evidently taken from the page 128Polynesian word "tatau", and it is amusing that some western writers have converted the word tattoo back into tatu to record what they imagined was the correct Polynesian term.
In Rarotonga, Aitutaki, and Mangaia, I was told that the tattooing comb was made from the bone of a bird, but Savage (57) states the bones of rats were also used. The bone was scraped thin (angiangi) and the lower end notched finely to form teeth. The notched bone was then ti