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".
Marae Marae A (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), (in Tongan), (in Marquesan), and (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term also means "cleared, free of weeds, trees, etc". It generally consists of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular (the marae itself), bordered with stones or wooden posts (called ' in Tahitian and Cook Islands Māori) perhaps with terraces (') which were traditionally used for ceremonial purposes; and in some cases, a central stone ' or "a'u". In the Rapa Nui culture