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b A TATTOO MAY BE CONSIDERED A WINDOW TO THE WEARERS SOUL... Is it? The main people who would agree would be Tattoo artist themselves. The art of tattooing is a very intricate, unique, skilled talent.
It is also a historical thing, dating back many years mainly for tribal, religious reasons and beliefs. In this report I will attempt to explain how and why people choose tat-too's, how they got started, and the do and don ts of tattooing. You can tell a lot by a persons tattoo. How? Well after speaking with many professional tattoo artists I came be believe this. They all told me, that people should only get tattoos that contain meaning to them, or else don t even think about it.
So a smart person would get a meaningful tattoo, which would illustrate something important that happened in their life. That something important probably helped them become who they are. To-days generation is no stranger to tattoos. The most common forms of tattoos are tribal, Chinese, and war. Though the original (idea) symbolism of tattoos may have changed, they still are used for forms of protections, and luck.
Take the luke for instance. Lukut's are an-time beads valued by the Kayan tribe. It is believed when a man is ill, his soul escapes from his body. When it returns, the man will tie it in by tying a piece of string with the luke around his wrist.
The strings would break and the bead would get lost. The solution? Draw the Luke on the wrist, welcome the wrist tattoo. Luke tattoos are now also thought to ward off all dis-eases. The rosette, or star, came from the pattern found in the fruit of a plant called Janet, which was brought to Borneo fifty or sixty years ago. Many designs with symbolism often go through gradual degradation, losing its original name, meaning and often its origin is also forgotten.
Tribal tattooing is another example of a term that has gone through degradation. When we hear tribal tattooing, we think sharp edged, wave designs in full color ink, with some kind of Indian tribal meaning. Now they have no really meaning to them, and most tribal are done purely for design, and representation of angst and pain. When a tattoo is referred to as Tribal, it means it is a black minimalist design. This type of de-sign has become very popular in the past ten years, and is based on designs from the South Pacific.
To get more insight on this topic I decided I needed to talk to the experts, the professional guys (and girls) who create some of the most beautiful designs. To do this I went to 3 tattoo shops in San Diego, and one in El Centro. I asked why they all decided this was the business for them. They all said basically the rea-son they decided to come into this was because they had a strong passion to draw. They also said that people should not get a tattoo unless there is some meaning to it, because tattoos are things meant to stay on for life, and if got something with a temporary meaning it becomes permanent weather you want it to or not. The Dos and dont sDo make sure the shop is clean (this means no dirt) Do make sure the design has meaning Do make sure the shop is health approved Do make sure they use sterile needles Do make sure they have a good background Do make sure they are experienced Dont go to a dirty looking place Dont go to anyone but a professional (this results in really messed up tattoos, leading to expensive cover ups) Dont use really dull colors (the easily fade) Imagine have a single marking that can determine your life and youre after life.
In tribal tattooing rituals, your tattoo determines your place in life and the afterlife. Borneo is one of the few places in the world where tradi-tional tribal tattooing is still practiced today just as it has been for thousands of years. Until recently many of the inland tribes had little contact with the outside world. As a result, they have preserved many aspects of their tradi-tional way of life, including tattooing. Tattooing in Borneo played the main roll in their lives. Their ancestors of native tribes have lived n Bor-neo for over 50, 000 years.
The Dayaks, another tribe from Borneo had a lifestyle that brought about tribal tattooing. The Dayaks lived In longhouses, which held up to 60 families. The families lived very closely in the longhouses. The longhouses were mad of bamboo and iron-wood. For entertainment, they watched tribal warfare. The whole purpose of the war was to bring home the ene-mies head.
The head was brought back to the house, and there was this big party to celebrate the victory of the head. What they ate was pieces of skin from the victims head, feet, and knees. They only ate human flesh be-cause they believed by eating the victims flesh they would gain their strength and energy. The main course was the brain, which was seasoned with tobacco. After they finished with the dinner, the head was taking out-side, skinned and dried over a fire, leaving only the skull.
They took the skulls and hung them from rafters on the longhouses. They kept the skulls because it was believed they were a source of spiritual energy that would bring good luck, and wealth to the tribe who gained the skull. They skulls were treated like kings, and only the elders of the tribes were allowed to touch them, and take care of them. When the British took hold of Borneo, they attempted to stop the tribal wars, and they succeeded a little. Headhunting entered a dark period: defenseless elders, travelers, and random people asleep in the forest. They even resulted in taking the head of dead bodies from Graves.
The reason people were so desperate for the heads, was so they could gain the hand tattoo. The hand tattoo is a symbol of their status in tribal life, and it served and important pur-pose for after death. It was said, that if a man had the hand tattoo it would illuminate the darkness as the soul wandered in search of The River Of the Dead. When the soul found it, Maligang (the guard of the River) asked to see the hand tattoo. If it was showed to him, you were allowed to cross the river on a log. If there was no tattoo Maligang would kick the log as the soul attempted to cross the river, throwing it into the river to be eaten by the maggots If the soul belonged to a person killed in battle, it was given extra privileges.
There was a place only for them by Bang Data (The Lake of Blood) where the soul could grow without working, and it had the company of woman who had died in childbirth. The Kayan's another tribe out of Borneo have signifi-cantly different tattooing rituals. The Kayan men are tattooed only for decoration, there is no symbolism or religious reason involved. With the Kayan woman, the tat-thing is very complicated. Woman are tattooed over their whole forearms, backs of their hands, over their thighs, below the knees, and the surface of their feet. They Kayan woman began tattooing at a very young age because the proc-ess is very painful and takes a long time.
The time can span from anywhere from one to four years. The girl is usually ten years old when she begins the tattooing, usu-ally starting with her fingers and hands. In about the fourth year, the whole process should be completed. The tattooing for woman in the Kayan tribe is very complicated because there are many rules for tattooing.
A woman must have all her tattoos completed before she gets pregnant because if she is not tattooed completely, the tribe will consider her immodest. If a woman got sick after any tat-thing was done, then the tattooing isnt allowed to be continued until a long period of time. They also cant be tattooed if there is someone dead in their house, or during their period, because it is believed that if there is blood during the tattooing, and blood in the house of on the woman, she will have nightmares and bad luck. Women are also not allowed to eat certain meats, until she has a daughter. If she never had a daughter, she has to wait till her son has kids before she can eat the meat.
A reason for their tattooing is the woman believe their tattoo acts as a torch into the afterlife, and if they don t have the light, theyd remain in complete darkness never finding their way outs left to roam the earth. They also believe that after death, if they are tattooed completely, they will be allowed to shower in a mythical river called Than Jan. They will be allowed to pick pearls while those who arent tattooed Back then the actual tattooing was only allowed to be performed by the woman, and the men would carve the designs into pieces of would. The greater number of tattoos done by the woman, the more expensive it is. She also isnt allowed to eat meat, and if she does her tattoos will come out unclear, and she can die. Apu Lagan is the name of the tutelary spirit of the tattoo artists.
The tools that they had, were the stamping blocks, three prickers, one iron striker and the ink. The ink is made out of sugar cane and soot. The person being tattooed then laid down on the floor, flat. The artist would be on either side, and dipped the fiber from the sugar palm to the ink, and dips the pricker into the ink and taps the handles of the pricker into the skin with the striker. It is very painful, and takes really long. Often times the person being tattooed cries, and yells.
No antiseptic is used, so most of the time the tattooed person gets infections, but they go away quickly. The tattoo artists are also not allowed to tattoo their friends because it is said t hat that is bad luck, unless the person gives the artist a gift. If no gift is given, and a friend is tattooed they say the artist goes blind, and all this stuff will happen to the girl, and her parents
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