THE MEANING OF TATTOO ART HISTORY

A tattoo is a marking made by inserting indelible ink into the layers of skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification or branding.

Tattooing has been practiced worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, traditionally wore facial tattoos. Today one can find Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa), Māori of New Zealand, and Atayal of Taiwan with facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples and among certain tribal groups in the Taiwan, Philippines, Borneo, Mentawai Islands, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan, Cambodia, New Zealand and Micronesia. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular in many parts of the world.

History

Tattoos appear from the Neolithic. Many of the mummies are found from the 2nd millennium BC in Egypt or Siberia. Some of the well-known mummies had tattoos as Otzi the Iceman, the mummy Amunet, ...

Far East of Asia also has a separate history of this art. The main traditional cultures of Japan, irezumi has provided a large number of patterns used for tattoos are the perfect contrast between color and light. However, the traces left on the small terracotta statues are found in Japan to show the tattoos on the face of the statue was carved or painted from 5000 BC. These special tattoos have a meaning of religious or mystical. In China, people also excavated some first evidences of the phenomenon of tattoo on the body from a dynasty of China around the year 297 AD.

In 1769, the sailors of Captain James Cook and later the sailors of the French count - Bougainville have been charmed with fancy art of Tatau - drawing on the body – of the aboriginal and South Pacific Islands where they went through. The word Tatau is from the origin of tattoo (English) and tatouage (French) means tattoos. Tattoos became popular in sailors community, then spread throughout Europe.

Purpose

The tattoo custom has grown to become a culture of communities such as tattoo in totern to identify people in the same tribe, this marked is common in many ethnic minorities. Some tribes in the world marked the maturity of a teenager after successful first hunting trip with a ritual of tattoo. In Papua New Guinea, Maisin women were tattooed in puberty rites, so people who has no tattoo is considered to be inexpressive and not ready for marriage.

The tattoo is also served for the transfer of ceremonial, a sign of status and class, a symbol of spiritual belief, religious cult, devotion, a decoration for bravery, the sexual attractive, a sign of prosperous, a guarantee for love, talismans, a sign of prisoners and slaves ...

Class show-off

People can affirm their social status via tattoos. In the 19th century, British nobility and king rank as Nicolas II tsar, kings of Sweden and Denmark had gone to Japan for tattooing the dragon. Whereas, in Japan at the time, peoples with tattoos were the lower part of society as fire soldiers, horse keepers. Today, the tattoo traditional is only still remains in Japanese gangster - the yakusa.

The Asia dynasties used to be treatment the criminals with tattoos.

In feudal China, tattoos were considered as a manifestation of the barbaric. Many King dynasties used this method to punish the offenders. By the 6th century, the tattoos also be used to mark for identify the criminals and exiled prisoners easier. At that time, those serious offenders, instead of being cut off a hand or ears as before, will be marked by multiform icons for where they have sinned. They will be separated from family, community and lost their status in society.

In Japan, the offender punishment by tattoos was in the 720 AD. Meanwhile, Japanese Imperial commuted the death sentence for a rebel leader to tattoo penalty. Until the 17th century, the tattoo punishment is changed to another penalty and the feudal state was trying to abrogate it.

Aesthetics

An aesthetic tattoos in woman’s hip.

Today, women tattooed eyebrows, lips, ... for cosmetic and beauty. The youth tattooed for a trend of personality confirmed.