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10 Things You Didn’t Know About African Tribal Tattoos
People have always been fascinated by tattoos. In today’s modern world, there are a great many types of African tribal tattoos. Of all the tattoos out there, the African tribal tattoos have been favored by many modern circles in the recent past. They are very common in western culture. But do you really know anything about her if you overlook her obvious beauty and appeal? Do you understand the meaning behind them? Might not. The following are some of the things you didn’t know about most African tribal tattoos that you see.
Origin and Purpose of African Tribal Tattoos
First and foremost, you should know that these tattoos have African origins and as such, many of their meanings are derived from African culture. Given the superstitious nature of traditional Africans, this is somewhat expected. Tattoos have been around for a very long time. Evidence of the very first African tattoo was found in 1994 BC. Found on a mummy. Imagine. However, it is estimated that there are other tattoos dating back to 2000 BC. come from. There are pictures showing Egyptian priestesses with tattooed arms.
Some of the African tribal tattoos have been put on to protect the wearer from all sorts of injuries throughout their life. It was a form of protection accompanied by forces that connect the tattoo to the wearer. The symbolism of the pictures protects them for life.
In the modern society that we live in nowadays, the tribal tattoos are just for decoration and have no value. This does not apply to some very traditional minded people who wear them. For them, art helps them take on a supernatural state and overcome evil. They even gave it the term scarification, meaning the art offers the wearer a way to be more than just human – supernatural.
symbolism
What criteria do you typically use to pick a tribal tattoo at a tattoo parlor? You probably pick one because you’ve seen it on someone or just because it appeals to your eyes, right? Well, tattooing and scarification in African culture usually used symbols that reflected the wearer’s character. Normally one should prove one’s bravery and bravery, virtues one must possess in order to go through the painful application of the art.
scarring
You’re fair-skinned and you’ve probably never thought of how dark-skinned people get their tattoos done when the black ink doesn’t show up against their dark skin. Whether you were curious or not, you should know that there is a type of body art that very dark-skinned Africans used to do. The art is called cicatrisation, in which a small opening is created on the skin and a designed wound is formed. Ash is then rubbed onto the wound, allowing it to heal quickly. The result is a permanent and raised scar.
In this day and age, anyone in a community can tattoo when and where they want. In addition, they can have any type of tattoo, regardless of age and position held in society. Well, it’s not the same with many traditional cultures that take great pride in their tribal art. Art differs according to rank in society. The higher your rank, the more elaborate and complicated your tattoo will be. As such, many start with very simple tribal tattoos and as they rise through the ranks symbols are added to their tattoos to align with their ranks. The bosses usually have the most complicated designs. The women in some tribes and cultures usually have theirs on their lips and on their chins.
superstition
Unlike many modernized parts of the world, while tattooing is very casual, many African tribes tend to have strong beliefs in what they call their tattoo gods. So if you belong to this tribe, you must first pray to the tattoo gods and ask for protection during the tattoo drawing process as well as subsequent healing. They also pray to ensure the tattoos look striking and attractive.
right of passage
There are very many different cultures depicting the rites of passage from childhood to adulthood. Some use circumcision and others, probably the cool tribes that used tattoos as their rites of passage. The pain of having the African tribal tattoos on your body has been used to see if you can hold out or if you are too fragile. Girls who couldn’t go through the tattooing process had to be single for life as she might not be able to go through childbirth, a far greater pain. Men who could not get through were called cowards and were not allowed to go hunting with the other men. Although this may not be taken very seriously, it was taken seriously at the time
Other tribal tattoos
The Polynesian tribal tattoos, believed to have originated in the country of Samoa, are credited with pioneering tattooing today. James Cook, an explorer of the seas, landed in these lands and when he returned to England in the 1970’s he and his men were spotted with tribal tattoos very similar to the popular neo-tribal designs available today are. These tattoos were inked on the sailors’ arms, upper arms and chest.
African tribal tattoos as an ornament of beauty
Back in the day, there wasn’t much talk of makeups or ornaments. In fact, many tribes used tattoos as adornment to attract members of the opposite sex. Different motifs were drawn on different parts of the body. And believe it or not, that worked for the ladies back when they got husbands with the beauty of their tattoos. Crazy, right?
