Getting tattoos on the body is nothing more than a style statement, for the
present generation. However, going back to the pages of history, tattoos in the
early ages, were borne not for fashion. Instead, they were generally inscribed
in the body, essentially for the medicinal and spiritual qualities. While
discussing about tattoos that were impressed in the yesteryears, we cannot miss
out on African tattoos, which also has its roots firmly laid to the era before
Christ in the Egyptian civilization. African tattoos were not borne for
ornamental appeal, during the prehistoric ages. Instead, they held great
symbolic importance as well. While some tattoos protected the tribal people from
every kind of harmful spirits, the others reflect the courage and bravery of a
person. To know more about the emergence of African tattoos and its symbolic
interpretation, browse through the following lines.
African Tattoos
Except for the 5000 year old man recently discovered in ice, the first evidence
of tattoos leads back to the mummies in Egypt. The oldest tattoo was found on
the mummy of Amunet, a priestess of the Goddess Hathor, during 2160-1994 BC. The
mummy's simple tattoos were parallel lines on her arms, legs, and an elliptical
pattern below her navel. Interestingly, no male mummies found in Egypt had their
body adored with tattoos. Egyptologists, today, are of the opinion that these
designs symbolized fertility and rejuvenation in women. However, male mummies
that have been found in other parts of Africa, such as Libya, have tattoos of
images relating to sun worship, on their body.
In the tomb of Seti I, dating back to 1300 BC, tattoos symbolizing Neith, a
Fierce Goddess, who led warriors into battle, were found on men. The first known
tattoo of a person was discovered on Nubian female mummies, dating to 400 BC.
The tattoo image portrayed the God of Sex and overseer of orgies, Bes. Another
form of early body ornamentation was 'cicatrisation'. The word cicatrisation was
derived from the French word, cicatrices, which mean 'scar'. This form of body
ornamentation was common among the darker-skinned people of Africa, so that
their original color of skin would not show.
Present Era
While contemporary tattoos involve puncturing the skin for inserting pigment,
Cicatrisation involves cutting the skin more severely to create wounds, which
results in a decorative pattern of scar tissue. This popular technique for
scarring involves two steps - piercing the skin and then, rubbing the wound with
ash. The latter step is primarily done to inflame the skin, which later heals to
form a raised scar. The wounds are periodically re-opened, and inserted with a
pebble or pearl, in order to enhance the raised effect.
Other African body altering traditions involve extreme forms of body piercing.
The basic purpose of the art is to exaggerate body forms by ornamentation. Lips
are pierced and objects are implanted inside, causing the lip tissue to elongate
and conform to the shape of the implanted object as the flesh heals. Coming back
to tattooing, African tribes are still seen with tattoos on their body.
Available in numerable designs and forms, tattoos are mainly impressed to
portray the symbols, which are unique to their group. This helps them to
recognize people of their group and also those that belong to other groups.
|
|
