Do you have a tattoo? Thinking back on when you got it, what were the reasons? Has it stayed the only one? Or is it hard to find a blank place on your skin to feature the latest artwork you want it to carry? And have you ever pondered when tattoos started? And that they actually used to be a language of their own?
The oldest tattooed person known is Ötzi with 61 tattoos; his mummy was found in a glacier in the Ötztaler Alps, Austria, and it dates back to around 3250 B.C. So, tattooing is as old as mankind, and it was practiced all around the globe – we just don’t always know with certainty what it symbolized. Some of the symbols might have signified how many animals or enemies had been killed, others might have been thought to ward off evil spirits. Tattoos might have marked your membership in a specific group. What we do know is that the word itself is a loanword from the Samoan language with the meaning “to strike”, as in striking the symbol into the skin.
Whereas in early Christianity of the western world some newly converted Christians had a “T” tattooed on their brows because it reminded of a cross, there was still a tradition of punishing criminals with a facial tattoo until Emperor Konstantin set an end to this. Crusaders had crosses tattooed on their skin. Seafarers who had crossed the equator and reached Polynesia had the date of their arrival there and other symbols inked into their skin as soon as Polynesia had been discovered. These tattoos were a sign of achievement. Later, in the U.S., tattoos helped prevent getting pressed into the British Navy, and for black sailors they even meant more – they signified that they were freemen. In the middle and upper class society, getting a tattoo counted as a small triumph of personal rebellion over the establishment.
The darkest chapter of tattooing in modern times is, of course, that of the Holocaust victims. I simply lack words.
Yet, there is also a brighter side to tattoos, as being of real value by improving a person’s life. I’m not talking of permanent make-up that saves you from constantly replenishing one’s cosmetic stash. I’m talking of camouflaging physical flaws such as big scars or vitiligo, a skin pigmentation disorder. Such tattoos help patients to reinforce their mental stability. With Alzheimer patients, a tattoo can help them get identified and be brought home when they are found missing.
Of course, there are also non-permanent tattoos (though I’m not sure that they ought to be called that). Henna paintings are a very traditional kind that is just one color and bleaches away after a while. I have had my hands painted once at a huge Indian wedding. In that case, the painting procedure was the equivalent for a girl’s night out with the bride, the night before the vows. In the early 2000s, wash-off tattoo pens were introduced into the market by the creative industry. And, of course, we all know tattoo transfers that also wash or wear off after a while. I have had some silly fun with all of these temporary ones, back in the day.
Suffice it to say, each to their own skin. Traditional tattoos are still regulated in specific career fields to this day. They might also clash with the colors one prefers to wear. A tattoo is permanent, and even removal leaves betraying scars. As in everything permanent, it might be wise to sleep over it.
