Tattoo is a loanword from the Samoan word "tatau", meaning "to strike". The "Oxford English Dictionary" gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, etc.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu." Before the importation of the Polynesian word, the practice of tattooing had been described in the West as painting, scarring or staining. The etymology of the body modification term is not to be confused with the origins of the word for the military drumbeat or performance — see "military tattoo". In this case, the English word "tattoo" is derived from the Dutch word "taptoe".
Samoan literature Fuata of Australia and London, and lesbian playwright Kiana Rivera based in Hawaii. Non-binary writer Jenny Bennett-Tuionetoa was the winner of the 2018 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the Pacific Region. There have been few publications in the Samoan language. This is a list of the important publications originally written in Samoan, and published in Samoan and other languages, including English. Most were published in Apia, independent Samoa, and from urban areas of Samoan diaspora, including Auckland and Suva. Publications include important indigenous language historical and cultural texts, part of the Polynesian language system, which is often subject to Linguistic