The cannibals of the Gambier Islands wore elaborately patterned tattoos of the highest quality, but not everyone was tattooed, because of the high prices charged by tattooists. Kings must have richly rewarded successful warriors, as they wore more decorations than anyone else. These covered their whole bodies, including the eyelids and lips. Warriors who could not afford such extensive tattoos were ridiculed and called roteo, meaning white face or ‘white man’. All the men on Mangareva, the main island of the Gambier group, had a family crest on the chest. In the royal family, this sign consisted of a series of dots tattooed on the feet soon after birth. To secure their hereditary and absolute power, the kings killed anyone daring to imitate these tattoos. Besides family crests, all Mangareva warriors had tattoos resembling armour on their legs, consisting of blue lines. These misled the Europeans who thought they were wearing trousers.