Tattoos

[John Lynch]

The (non-Polynesian) languages of Tanna, Vanuatu, appear to have
borrowed the original Polynesan form for 'tattoo', with a regularly
accreted initial article - Lenakel /netetau/, Kwamera /natatau/.

I have checked with a range of Futuna and Aniwa informants -
Futuna-Aniwa being one likely source - but they say they use /tatu/
today, presumably (as with Ifira-Mele /ta:tu:/) a borrowing ultimately
from English or French, but more immediately from Bislama. I still need
to check with older speakers. However, there is no form for 'tattoo' in
either Dougherty's or Capell's dictionaries - either they didn't elicit
it, or else they may have not included /tatu/ since it was demonstrably
a loan.

However, one Futuna informant quotes the verb /tataroa/ 'to prick with a
needles, as e.g. in tattooing'. A phonemically identical form is given
in Capell and in Dougherty, but with meanings like 'cleanse' or 'wash'.

The origin of the Tanna forms could therefore be (1) an earlier Futuna
/tatau/, which has been replaced by Bislama ttatu/, or (2) Samoan
/tatau/, since there were Samoan missionaries in the area.

For what it is worth ...   Of course, none of this has much bearing on
the issue of how /tatau/ became /tatu/ in English.

John