Tattoo Designs
| Tattooed Woman | |
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| This 1,500-year-old mummy was found in a pyramid in Peru. Her body was tattooed on the arms, legs, and feet with pictures of spiders, snakes, religious and magic figures. | |
Tattooing is an art that has been popular with American Indians, Indonesians, Hindus, Africans, Japanese and Polynesians over the years. Japanese are known for designing colorful tattoos, covering up to the entire body. Polynesian tattoo designs are traditionally used to protect a person from attacks by unseen forces, and to project the individual's own sacred power. The African Fulani tribe consider beauty to be very important and they show this through the tattoos that they cover their bodies with. Some American Indian tribes, such as the Cherokees, tattooed their faces and bodies to obtain power. As an example, tattoos were used to create symbolic eagle eyes around the eyes of men, giving them the eyes of the eagle in flight. The art of tattooing has been around since ancient times. Cave paintings aging over 8,000 years old show drawings of humans with figures tattooed on their bodies.
The word tattoo originated from the Tahitian tattau, which means to mark or strike. A tattoo design is a relatively permanent mark on a person's skin. Many cultures consider tattooing a form of art. The art of tattooing is created by dying skin with permanent ink. The skin is dyed by injecting small amounts of colored pigments to the under layers of the skin with electrical needles. Tattooing has also been used to label cattle, brand prisoners and slaves, confer magical powers, cure illness, declare religious conviction or romantic devotion, and express opinions.
In the past, Western society has disapproved of tattooing. Jewish as well as Christian faiths have banned the art of tattooing. Generally, only sailors, prisoners, gangsters and prostitutes had tattoos designed on their bodies. Today, some Christians believe that prohibiting permanent marks on the body was something that came from the Old Testament, but that in the New Testament it is allowed and even encouraged as a sign of faith. Decorative tattoo designs became more popular in the 1900's, particularly among men in military services. Since then, tattooing has become a fashion trend among young people.