XXVII. Concerning Marking with Tatau

No person shall mark with tatau, it shall be entirely discontinued. It belongs to ancient evil customs. The man or woman that shall mark with tatau, if it be clearly proved, shall be tried and punished. The punishment of the man shall be this—he shall make a piece of road ten fathoms long for the first marking, twenty (fathoms) for the second; or, stone-work, four fathoms long and two wide; if not this, he shall do some other work for the king. This shall be the woman's punishment—she shall make two large mats, one for the king, and one for the governor; or four small mats, for the king two, and for the governor two. If not this, native cloth, twenty fathoms long, and two wide; ten fathoms for the king, and ten for the governor. The man and woman that persist in tatauing themselves successively for four or five times, the page 187 figures or ornaments marked shall be destroyed by black ing them over, and the individuals shall be punished as above written.