TAPITAPI OR THE TATTOOING OF FEMALES ON SANTA ANNA, BY HENRY KUPER. AT the age of thirteen or fourteen years the girls are considered ready to undergo the operation of being tattooed (tapitapi). It is a painful process and only a small portion of the body or limbs is tattooed at one time. The patterns are drawn and punctured by skilled female artists (wefene-tapitapi). It may be done at any time except when the initiation (maraufu) of young men is being carried on, or when the canoes used during the process of such initiation are being built. At that time the women folk should keep as much as possible in the background of village affairs, so as not to disturb the attention of the spirits whose powerful influence is needed to make the initiation a success. The girl to be tattooed goes into the forest and scrapes resin or gum from some bleeding place in the bark of the trunk of a tree, a Barringtonia bearing edible almonds, called gatoga, or another one called maramarangali, a tree resembling the wild almond. The gum is black and burns well, and is used for native torches. Having collected enough she returns to her home. Early the next morning she lights the gum and catches the soot in the concave stem of a fresh coconut leaf. The pronounced concave stem of the leaf of a pale-green coconut called niu-marauwa is generally used, it forms nearly half of the frond, and very little smoke escapes. The reason for doing it early in the morning is because the smoke is heavier then and less inclined to rise quickly in the still moist morning air. The reason given by the natives is, however, quite different. This soot the girl scrapes into the half shell of a coconut, and mixes it into a paste with a little water. After three days she squeezes the juice of the fruit of the tree aguru into the paste to thin it and make it suitable for tattooing. She takes this to the tattooing artist and the work commences. Using a small stick from the rib of a coconut leaf the artist traces one complete pattern and then tattooes the same. A small two-pointed bone of any seagull (suri na manu) is inserted in a length of reed (ate) and lightly tapped with a small stick made of any hardwood. The black palm (makemake) is generally used, and the stick, irrespective of material used, is called korekore. To ensure a permanent effect, the skin is punctured till the blood appears. After working about an hour or two the completed portion of the pattern is washed with water and afterwards rubbed with the leaf of a certain croton (agofere). This leaf is freshly picked and held over a fire for a short while to make it more pliable. The operation sometimes causes a slight fever to set in, and should symptoms of this appear, or the pain caused through the tattooing be too great, the work is stopped and is not resumed till both subside. The start is made with the centre piece (gogoakau) (Fig. 1, c1) on the abdomen, running from the division of the breasts to the navel, the whole pattern across this part of the body being called aobonna (Fig. 1, c); funimaro (Fig. 1, d) crossing the hips, follows next, and then taupito (Fig. 1, c2) and bepe (Fig. 1, e). The last-named can be completed by a quick operator on both legs in one sitting, but generally occupies two. Then follows kaura (Fig. 1, c3) and after that susu (Fig. 1, b) on both breasts. Boroniuwa (Fig. 1, f) on both legs, just above the knees, follows. The tattooing so far accomplished takes about one month or even longer, for the girl must in the intervals assist in household and other duties, and besides this the operation is really painful. The back of the body is now tattooed, and work is begun with kafa (Fig. 2, j) to be followed by rau-na-barabara (Fig. 2, i), berena-rorowagaro (Fig. 2, 1), and rabo (Fig. 2, k), and mamarugu-na-uwa (Fig. 2, m) on both upper legs, and boe-na-uwa (Fig. 2, o) on the back of both lower legs. This is followed by rari-na-uwa (Fig. 3, n) on both shins, and robou-faga (Fig. 3, p) on both upper arms near the shoulders. Now the upper chest is crossed with barageimatona (Fig. 1, a) and the shoulders with bau-ni-fagana (Fig. 2, |