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Rites associated with the skin
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Traditional African tatoo
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Where tattoos come from, and when they first appeared, remain shrouded in mystery. Marks found on the Austrian Iceman Otzi's body prove tattoos
were already being used some 5300 years ago in that region. But before that, no other evidence of how this practice originated has been found.
What is certain, however, is that tattooing dates back millennia, and spans the globe. Celts, Eskimos, Egyptians, Japanese, Polynesians, Berbers and Africans have all had tattoos, revealing how deep-rooted and far-reaching this practice is. Yet if their use is widespread, the meaning behind them has varied considerably throughout history.
In Japan, figurines with painted or engraved faces dating back at least 5,000 years, are believed to have accompanied the deceased in the afterlife. Tattoos, in other words, had a religious or supernatural meaning in this culture.
Later, towards 720 AD, criminals and outcasts were stigmatised with tattoos, often depicting the scene of their crime.
In Egypt, archaeologists have found a well-preserved mummy of a woman, believed to be a priestess dedicated to the goddess Hathor some 4,000 years ago. She had parallel lines tattooed on her arms, thighs and even under the nose, which specialists believe had erotic significance, as indeed did most tattoos in Ancient Egypt.
North of the border between China and Russia, tombs of the Pazyryks, who were formidable warriors living in the area over 3,000 years ago, were found to contain virtually intact bodies with tattoos depicting real-life and imaginary animals. Other, more abstract, tattoos are believed to have served a therapeutic purpose. Today, tribes in Siberia still use tattoos to alleviate backache.
In India and Tibet, tattoos are associated with puberty, maternity, sickness, mourning. The Karen people of Northern Thailand wore talisman tattoos, which they trusted to deflect enemy bullets, even during recent hostilities with the Burmese army.
As for the Greeks and Romans, they used tattoos to differentiate between social classes - with distinguishing marks for slaves, prostitutes or those condemned to death recognised by everyone.
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Earrings
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Piercing the skin to insert a ring, diamond, or other accessory, is an ancestral practice. The Mayas (who wore rings in their tongues), the Papuans (who sport small bones in their nostrils), and the Massaïs (known for their earrings) are some such examples.
Ear-piercing
is a family tradition, and wearing earrings is perfectly well accepted. Nowadays a great many teenagers, and some adults, pierce their flesh in several different places.
About twenty years ago, the Punks, a marginal and somewhat violent and nihilistic cultural movement, introduced safety-pin piercing. Since then, piercing has spread to a much wider portion of society - and to just about every part of the body.
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Traditional scarring aroud the navel (New-Guinea)
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Scarring
involves cutting the skin deep enough to cause a scar. The cuts are then rubbed with hot ashes and wood to leave burn-like markings. The various types of scars distinguish people from different ethnic groups. Hodea scars, for instance, depict pythons, and the Sawa people in Papua New Guinea create scars portraying crocodiles. They are looked upon as an expression of great beauty.
In all cases, these traditions entail risks, since inserting foreign bodies into the skin, and severing the skin barrier, can trigger infections. The healing process following these ritual mutilations can then be long and painful. They should only be practiced in spotlessly sterile condition
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