al Exhibition in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1906, were tattooed with various combinations of the following motifs: ruru and mokora on arms, pa'oro on legs, puvakevake on shoulders and upper arm, manuta'i on forearm, maurua on abdomen, and a partly finished tuata'iti on the back. The repeated three rays in the puvake-vake motif was said by Tangitoru to represent the three original tribes of Mangaia.
Figure 71.—Tattoo motifs from Mangaia. a, puwakewake: on chest, shoulder and upper arm. b, manuta'i: encircles forearm with lower points toward hand; c, motupoki: curved double line following curve of hand between thumb and forefinger with ends on proximal phalanx of thumb and forefinger; d, e, ruru or kau: around wrist below manuta'i with points toward fingers; f, mokora: crosses on back of hand and fingers; g, pa'oro: on lower leg from knee to ankle; h, vava'anga: just above knee; i, pote'a: on thigh above vava'anga in sets of four to encircle limb; j, tuata'iti: mesial lines along spine and oblique lines extending to mid-axillary line; resembles Aitutaki manuta'i motif (fig. 70, d); k, maurua: named after a star and tattooed on abdomen and other parts; 1, purauti: face motif with curved base toward ear and apex toward nose; m, ngutu (lip): female pattern on upper lip; n, poe rauti: face pattern with point toward ear; o, mokomoko: heel pattern of curved line on either side of tendo Achillis.
The rau teve motif (rau, leaf; teve, species of wild arrowroot) as the name implies is taken from the leaf of the teve. The main part of the motif consists of the leaf stalk with three or four divisions turned toward the ear and the accessory part of a number of spaced figures in hour-glass form but with the page 132sides straight instead of curved. The number of hour-glass figures between the leaf and the middle line of the neck ranges from four to six depending on the size of the motifs and the spacing between them. (See figure 72, a, b, c.)
Figure 72.—Tattooing motifs from Rarotonga. a, rau teve, on Tupai, on left side of neck but transposed in drawing to right side for comparison with b: 1, rau teve with three lobes and small lozenge-shaped space left untattooed; 2, hour-glass motif with triangular spaces not filled in on each side; four to the middle line (3) with one on other side when Tupai refused to allow second half to be completed. b, rau teve of Pakitoa on right side: 1, rau teve with four lobes with upper part touching lower end of mastoid bone (4) and end 16 mm. from attachment of ear lobe (5); 2, hour-glass motif of which there are four, but midline of neck (3) passes through middle of fourth, c, rau teve of Tai Uritaua on right with four-lobed leaf and six hour-glass motifs of which the sixth (6) reaches the midline of the neck and the next (7) on the other side is outlined, not filled in. d, ruru: wrist pattern which completely encircled the right forearm of Pakitoa at the lower end of the radius; lines 1 mm. thick. e, ruru: pattern on back of left wrist of Pakitoa 56 mm. long, f, 'etu (star): five-pointed star on back of left hand of Pakitoa on ulnar side with rau teve on radial side; same as Mangaian maurua motif.
It is evident that ruru as a term for the pattern around the wrist was shared by people in all the islands, but inhabitants of each island express it in a different form. The difference in the other motifs used in individual islands is equally marked. Hence, though tattooing was shared by all, any set pattern that may have been used in the homeland was evidently not adhered to after diffusion of the people to the various islands of Polynesia.
Painting and Staining
On special occasions people rubbed parts of the body and the face with charcoal to darken it. Warriors did it to make themselves appear more ferocious. Sometimes it was used as a sign of mourning, and Cook (20, p. 204) records the following information from Atiu: "…upon seeing one man, who was painted all over a deep black colour, and inquiring the reason, our gentlemen were told, that he had lately been paying the last good offices to a deceased