The Tale of Tattoos Category : July/August 2001 Published by Anonymous on Jul. 02, 2001 CUSTOMS The Tale of Tattoos Mark Hawthorne, California While tattoos among sailors and motorcycle clubs might seem the most obvious to someone living in the West, many cultures, including that of the Hindus, have long regarded tattoos as essential aids in lifeand even as passports into the world beyond death. So why tattoos? What does a symbol embedded under the skin have to do with the spirit? In part, it is related to self-mortification, which has a long history in religion. Whether it's a Buddhist lama drawing a blade across his tongue, a Lakota warrior hanging for hours by page 1 / 150
hooks puncturing his chest or a sadhu piercing his cheeks and tongue with small spears, nearly every culture has a sect that regards physical suffering, or an apparent indifference to it, as just another step in spiritual development. Tattoos are believed to have begun as cuts in the skin to form scars, a decidedly painful process. The color, from soot or plants, came later. Anthropologists believe tattoos are part of the evolution of a tradition that views the voluntary endurance of pain as a way to tap into a primal urge for meaning and belonging. And sacred symbols, from cave paintings to mandalas, are as old as the struggle to understand our world. Tattoos are nearly as old. Archeologists have found instruments in Europe that were page 2 / 150
probably used for tattooing that date back as far as 40,000 years ago. In 1991, when a German couple hiking near a glacier in the Italian Alps stumbled upon the remains of a 5,300-year-old man, they discovered more than a Neolithic iceman. "Otzi," as scientists dubbed him, was frozen evidence that the practice of tattooing predated earlier tattoo discoveries by more than 1,000 years. Anthropologists speculate that Otzi's tattoos a cross on the inside of the left knee, six straight lines six incheslong above the kidneys and numerous parallel lines on the anklesmust have been personal symbols, not identification page 3 / 150
marks, since they would have been covered by his clothing. No one can be sure what Otzi's tattoos meant to him. Some scientists have observed the marks found on Otzi correspond to acupuncture points and speculate his tattoos show he had been treated for pain or illness. It is certainly no coincidence that acupuncture involves ritesneedles under the skinakin to the practice of tattooing. Anthropologists believe that tattoos have always had a religious and spiritual significance. page 4 / 150
Devotional Tattoos: Religious tattoos can be viewed with two levels of devotion: there's the ordeal of receiving the tattoo the tedious and painful process of injecting pigment into the flesh and then there's the symbolism and color of the design itself. Among the most devoutly tattooed groups page 5 / 150
anywhere is the community of Ramnaamis. Scattered across the Indian states of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, this sect of untouchables found refuge from harm in their distinctive tattoos the name "Ram" repeated in Sanskrit on practically every inch of skin, even on the tongue page 6 / 150
and inside the lips. Ramnaamis began their extraordinary custom during the Hindu reformist movement of the 19th century when they angered the upper-caste brahmins by adopting brahminical customs. To protect themselves against the brahmins' wrath, the Ramnaamis tattooed the page 7 / 150
name of Lord Ram on their bodies. About 1,500 strong today, the Ramnaami community still practices this painful rite, which is as much a demonstration of devotion as a talisman against persecution. With a rich tradition and thousands of page 8 / 150
Deities, Hinduism itself is today the source of countless tattoo designs. Tattoos depicting popular Gods such as Siva, Ganesha and Kali or sacred symbols like "Om" adorn the flesh of Hindus and non-hindus alike. Some of the most page 9 / 150
elaborate tattoo patterns anywhere are on the women of the Ribari tribe of Kutch, the very region in northwest India just devastated by an earthquake. It is one of the places to which the Pandavas were exiled during the Mahabharata. The page 10 / 150
members of the nomadic Ribari tribe live as their ancestors did; their tattoos being tangible symbols of the people's strong spirit and concern with faith and survival. Today, many people page 11 / 150
choose a particular design not because of its power or religious significance, but because they simply like the look of it. Tattoos are borrowed from other traditions as well, including Native page 12 / 150
American and Buddhist. These tattoos for fashion, of course, should not be regarded as religious and are often offensive to those who understand that spirituality is not simply a decoration. page 13 / 150
And beware of getting a tattoo designed in an unfamiliar language. Last year a man in England had a tattoo artist inscribe his wife's name on his arm in Hindi. Local Hindi speakers spotted the tattoo page 14 / 150
and informed the man there was a spelling error. Tattoos and the page 15 / 150
afterlife: As cultures focused more on spiritual issues, tattoos took on an active function, especially in the Pacific Islands and North page 16 / 150
America. The Maoris believed that a spirit would recognize their elaborate facial tattoos after their death and give them the vision to find their way page 17 / 150
to the next world. The Dayak tribes of Borneo thought their hand tattoos would illuminate the darkness of the afterlife as the soul searched page 18 / 150
for the River of the Dead. Maligang, the spirit guarding the river, would check for the tattoo, which earned the soul the right to cross page 19 / 150
the river. This is similar to the Lakota tradition, which teaches that the soul of the dead starts its journey to the other world on the starry spirit page 20 / 150
road (Milky Way). Along the path, it will pass Owl Woman, who inspects it for the tattoo. If she can't find it, she prevents the soul's passage. page 21 / 150
The Inuits of Alaska also tattooed themselves in preparation for death rituals. Small dots were applied to the pallbearer at page 22 / 150
various joints along the body to protect against evil spirits. Some believe page 23 / 150
that the soul resembles the body that houses it and retains this appearance even after death, including page 24 / 150
the person's tattoos. In other cultures it is believed that death changes the person's appearance so drastically that page 25 / 150
your tattoos were the only form of identification that will be left to you. Without tattoos you are doomed to page 26 / 150
wander forever in the afterworld. "In all ancient societies religion and page 27 / 150
ritual were a part of every activity," says Steve Gilbert, author of Tattoo History: A Source Book (New York: page 28 / 150
Juno Books, 2000). "Religion was an integral part of all daily activities, so it was not that tattooing in page 29 / 150
and of itself was religious, but all activity was defined, controlled and limited by taboos, and overseen by page 30 / 150
spirits. Tattooing must have served as a symbolic connection between the individual, the group and the page 31 / 150
Gods. I think it was especially potent in this regard because of the letting of blood and the permanent page 32 / 150
changing of the body. The designs, of course, were strictly prescribed by tradition." page 33 / 150
Tattoos for Protection: Many cultures regard tattoos as protective amulets, and such magical page 34 / 150
applications are closely linked to religious beliefs. Ainu women in Japan, for page 35 / 150
instance, tattoo themselves with images of their Goddess, which is able page 36 / 150
to repel evil spirits and thus protect from disease. Iraqis commonly tattoo a dot at page 37 / 150
the end of a child's nose to guard against illness. A tattoo of Hanuman is used to page 38 / 150
relieve pain among Hindus. Aborigines in Australia believe tattoos on page 39 / 150
their arms allow them to dodge boomerangs. Soldiers in Burma tattoo their thighs to page 40 / 150
be invulnerable in war, and Cambodian men cover themselves in tattoos to page 41 / 150
make themselves impervious to harm, even from bullets. The use of tattoos in page 42 / 150
Cambodia may have come centuries ago from Indian settlers who practiced page 43 / 150
Vedic rituals. Sacred Buddhist texts are a page 44 / 150
favorite tattoo in Thailand, where they are believed to have magical page 45 / 150
power. In an initiation rite known as the "Krob Kru," the devotee lights incense and page 46 / 150
prays in preparation. The tattoo artist uses a special rod to inscribe the sacred text page 47 / 150
on the chest, back or arms. A shaman then tests the tattoo's potency by giving each page 48 / 150
tattoo three or four strong swipes of a sword. Tattoo recipients often enter a state of page 49 / 150
ecstasy or burst into violent trances. page 50 / 150
The snake clan of Pakokku, Burma, has made a science of protection page 51 / 150
tattoos. For centuries these Buddhist snake handlers have page 52 / 150
tattooed their bodies to protect themselves against the vipers and cobras that page 53 / 150
share their town. But they hold these deadly snakes in high esteem: page 54 / 150
Buddhist legend tells of a giant cobra sheltering a sleeping page 55 / 150
Lord Buddha during a rainstorm, and there is even a snake page 56 / 150
pagoda in nearby Mandalay. The town also regards the snake page 57 / 150
as its fertility God. Currently about a dozen members page 58 / 150
strong, the snake clan of Pakokku claims that no member has ever page 59 / 150
been killed by a snake no small feat considering these men page 60 / 150
are responsible for capturing snakes by hand and page 61 / 150
releasing them unharmed miles from town. Their secret is the page 62 / 150
tattoo. Each member undergoes weekly tattooing, a ritual that page 63 / 150
involves prayer, a very large metal needle and black ink page 64 / 150
mixed with snake venom. The venom, collected from snakes page 65 / 150
found in town, acts as an inoculation against snakebite. page 66 / 150
Arms, legs, chest, back, face and even the scalp are tattooed page 67 / 150
with Buddhist symbols, each mixed with venom cobra page 68 / 150
venom for tattoos on the upper body, viper venom for the lower page 69 / 150
body to help build the bearer's antibodies. page 70 / 150
The Hawaiians are prominent among peoples page 71 / 150
who have specific tattoo Gods. Called 'aumakua, page 72 / 150
these family or personal deities can be protective page 73 / 150
when properly honored, or destructive if neglected. page 74 / 150
Like Native American spirit guides, the 'aumakua can take page 75 / 150
the form of animals, inanimate objects or even natural page 76 / 150
phenomena, like lightning and thunder. Many page 77 / 150
Hawaiians adorn themselves with special tattoos honoring page 78 / 150
their 'aumakua. A tattooed row of dots around the ankle, for page 79 / 150
example, is considered a charm against sharks thanks to page 80 / 150
an ancient story in which a woman swimming in the page 81 / 150
ocean was bitten by a shark, her 'aumakua. When the woman page 82 / 150
cried out, the shark let go, saying, "I will not make that page 83 / 150
mistake again, for I see the marks on your ankle." In Hawaii, page 84 / 150
the images of the tattoo Gods are kept in the places of tattoo page 85 / 150
priests. Each tattoo session begins with a prayer to the tattoo page 86 / 150
Gods that the operation might not cause harm, that page 87 / 150
the wounds might heal soon and that the designs might be page 88 / 150
handsome. Like most of the page 89 / 150
Pacific Islands, Samoa also has a rich tattoo tradition. page 90 / 150
"In ancient Samoa, tattooing played an important role in both page 91 / 150
religious ritual and warfare," writes Gilbert. "The tattoo page 92 / 150
artist held a hereditary and privileged position. page 93 / 150
He customaril y tattooed young men in groups of six to page 94 / 150
eight, during a ceremony attended by friends and page 95 / 150
relatives who participate d in special prayers and page 96 / 150
celebration s associated with the tattooing ritual." The page 97 / 150
tattoos of Pacific Island natives made an impact on page 98 / 150
English explorers notably those who sailed with Captain page 99 / 150
Cook late in the 18th century and they returned home with page 100 / 150
bold new designs and helped resurrect the tattoo art in page 101 / 150
Europe. Western Tattoos page 102 / 150
Dispite tattoo's growing popularity, one of a page 103 / 150
mother's worst nightmare s remains her page 104 / 150
15-year-ol d daughter coming home one page 105 / 150
day and saying, "Hi mom, check out my new page 106 / 150
tattoo." Througho ut American and page 107 / 150
European history, tattoos have mostly page 108 / 150
been considere d just for sailors, criminals page 109 / 150
and, most recently, gangs. One exeption page 110 / 150
was a short vogue in the English page 111 / 150
upper classes in the late 1800s. Another page 112 / 150
revival started in the 1990s, bringing page 113 / 150
back interest in both traditional and page 114 / 150
nontraditi onal tattooing for both ethnic page 115 / 150
groups and tattoo fans. page 116 / 150
Temporar y Tattoos page 117 / 150
Though tattoos are by definition painful page 118 / 150
(the word comes from the Tahitian page 119 / 150
word "tatau," which was the sound page 120 / 150
their tattooing instrume nts made), page 121 / 150
some tattoos are applied without page 122 / 150
pain and last only a short time. A popular page 123 / 150
tattoo art in India is mehendi, a plant-bas page 124 / 150
ed temporar y tattoo involving thin lines page 125 / 150
for lacy, floral and paisley patterns covering page 126 / 150
entire hands, forearms, feet and page 127 / 150
shins. In Hindu weddings the bride often page 128 / 150
decorate s her palms and feet, believing page 129 / 150
that the slower the color fades away, page 130 / 150
the more she is loved by her husband. page 131 / 150
Archaeol ogists have discover ed page 132 / 150
mehendi orhenna on the hair and nails of page 133 / 150
Egyptian mummie s. There is evidence page 134 / 150
that the Neolithic people of Catal Huyuk page 135 / 150
(in central Turkey) used hennain page 136 / 150
the 7th century BCE to adorn their page 137 / 150
hands in connecti on with their fertility page 138 / 150
Goddess. Their Goddess worship was the page 139 / 150
predeces sor to the religions in the page 140 / 150
ancient Middle East, and henna seems to page 141 / 150
have been used througho ut this page 142 / 150
region. After 1500, henna is depicted page 143 / 150
on women in paintings in India page 144 / 150
and is also present on Kali and page 145 / 150
other Hindu Deities. The first known page 146 / 150
Indian queen to have been painted page 147 / 150
with the paste was Mumtaz Mahal, page 148 / 150
the wife of Emperor Shah Jahan, for page 149 / 150
whom the Taj Mahal was built. page 150 / 150