Polynesian tattooing

Māori facial marking

Preserved heads of Māori

thumb|A Samoan woman with '''''' is a traditional Samoan tattoo applied to women. The covers the legs from just below the knee to the upper thighs just below the buttocks, and is typically finer and more delicate in design compared to the , the tattoo worn by men. The takes its name from a particular lozenge-shaped motif of the same name, usually tattooed behind the knee, in the popliteal fossa. It is one of the key motifs not seen on men. According to Samoan scholar Albert Wendt and tattooist Sua Sulu'ape Paulo II, in tattooing, the term refers to notions of sheltering and protection. Samoan

right|thumb|200px|Pea, Samoan male tattoo '''''', or , is the traditional male tattoo () of Samoa. It covers the body from the waist to the knees, and consists of perfectly symmetrical heavy black lines, arrows, and dots. It is a common mistake for people to refer to the as sogaimiti, because sogaimiti refers to the man with the and not the itself.