TRIBAL TATTOOS: CULTURAL FAD & CULTURAL TRAVESTY!
(C) Wade MacMorrighan, 2007

Okay, we've all seen 'em...the ripped guys with a tribal armband tattood around their bicep! So far as tattoo as an expression of art nd consciousness goes (or lack there of, as I shall later go into) this one's been WAY over done!

Now, I'll be the first one to admit that if a sexy man with pecs of steel and arms with muscles ontop of his muscles walks into a room witha tribal tattoo there'd be something about it that would simply make him, shall we say, "more *appealing*"! But, that's one of the facets of tribal tattoos as an art--it's supposed to look goo on the body, and take into context the shape and natural lines of one's body; even accentuating them.

But, far too many men and women are thoughtlessly getting tattoos without understanding the significance of the ink they bear-- this very well may have the potential to bastardize a respective culture! I wouldn't be opposed of requiring tattoo artists to mandate that their prospective customers know what their are getting--if it's tribal, or froim some other culture-- and what it means, or each respective shape or line consciously reflect in the culture from which is stems.

This is why more folks ought to spend hours of time studying what they want, and how best to express it as a form of "sacred geomotry", if you will. Look to one's own culture, first, if there are any extent pagan/tribval motifs that have survived, and apply specific images and ifeograms in the make-up oif your tattoo, to best express what it is that the tribal tattoo is meant to signify! After all, tattoos often marked a rite de passage; it was a journey because it originally took many days, rather than hours, for ancient tattoos to be applied. But, I digress...

Lets say that, for the sake of argument, you are a Gay man (this is an original idea of my own) that you want a tribal tattoo as a symbol demarcating Gay Pride. What choices are there? Well, there's an inverted piunk triangle that our Nazi pursecutors demanded we wear. But, I would like a butterfly for a variety or reasons constructed out of a tribal motif. Now, the reasons for this is that the butterfly often represents liminality and transformation or fluidity from one state to another. It is also an obsolete sign for Gay Liberation: during the 1970s lavender butterflies were used as such symbols, but I have never seen any, or found this reference on-line. Red butterflies were also thought to be witches in early-modern Britain, as well as a symbol for the soul. Even in Spain a derogatory term for a Gay man [mariposa] translates as "butterfly".

However, the lines and motifs that yield the eventual tribal tattoo ought to reflect a deeper meaning and belief that incorporate various shapes and lines of significance. What should such a tattoo imply by way of the incorporated motif? Well, Pride and Courage, as well as Love, or incorporating symbols associated with Protection and Defense, for instance. But, instead of just leaching off of other disparate cultures with no connection [such as Native American meets Greek and pseudo-Celtic] choose some motifs from a culture that has significance to you--personally!

This, however, is my own personal philosophy. YMMV! Though, I pine for the days when a tribal tattoo actually MEANT something--we need more tribal customs within our own social networks or communities. Moreover, get an inspired tattoo to mark a relationship one might hav with a respective deity--I am ALL in favour of religious contemporary Pagan tattoos! Still...one fascet I desperately want to thoroughly investigate is the evidence for ancient tattoos from various cultures, particularly through Europe, and what they maight have looked like.

Here are some links you might find useful:

* www.tattooideasandmore.com/Site_Map.html [Some good, basic, guidelines.]
* Troubleshooting Tribal Tattoos: www.inkedblog.com/archives/...ttoos.html [I love this highly informative Blog! I was surprised that Houston police were recently forced to cover up their ink when, according to a recent aticle, more than 40% of Americans are tattood, which is making employers severely revise their respective dress codes! So...what gives?]
* "Getting A Native American Tattoo: The Trouble with tribal Designs": www.native-languages.org/tattoo.htm
* Skin as Art and Anthropology: news.nationalgeographic.com/news....html
* Tribal Tattoos: www.tattooideasandmore.com/Trib...s.php
* History of Tattoos: www.designboom.com/history/...tory.html
* Tribal Tattoos Through History--A Visual Timeline: www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos.htm
* Art VS. Fad: modifiedstateofmind.blogspot.com/2...ml
* "Tattooing Now A Fad": modblog.bmezine.com/2006/09/...ow-a-fad/
* "Body Modification: Ancient & Modern": hubpages.com/hub/tattoos_piercing
* www.tattoosymbol.com/
* "Tattoo you? Think before you ink": blogs.news.com.au/courierma...nts/tattoo

If anyone else has any relavent links of interest to post in reply, please feel free to do so!

Take Care,
Wade