A (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), (in Tongan), (in Marquesan) or (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. generally consist of an area of cleared land roughly rectangular (the 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 of Easter Island, the term ' has become a synonym for the whole marae complex.