Tattoos
From Mod Mania
TATTOOS
Tattoos have originated in many countries and are used for different reasons such as cultural identification, social status, beliefs and religion. Some even believe tattoos help in relieving pain and for magical protection. In the modern era it is mainly considered as decorating and modifying your body. It is the new fashion trend, to personalise your own self and permanently leave a mark on your body to be unique. It is also an expression of your emotions which would be with you for the rest of your life.
‘Tatao’ in Polynesian term means ‘to tap’ and in Tahitian known as ‘tatu’ means to mark something which in the modern era it is known as ‘tattoo’. Tattoo was once known to be essential in a few groups of religion; each person following the religion is required to have that tattoo mark on their body to symbolise the person’s authority as a group member even in modern days, gangs have a particular mark on their shoulder to represent which gang they belong in.
In the past tattoos or body art was applied with a comb like instrument usually made of shells or bones which is chiselled into the layers of skin whereas nowadays it is applied with a spring loaded hot needle gun which injects ink directly into the skin. When the first electronic tattoo machine was invented in 1890 by Samuel O’Reilly, an American Tattoo artist, a new era of tattooing was born, giving people the freedom to have tattoos in various parts of their body. However it was not respected in the recent history but rather, it was considered to be a kind of non sense suitable for drunkards, sailors or criminals. After many years of existence, one can find tattoo as a fashion symbol rather than simply a mark.
The oldest known tattoo was found on a mummy known as Oetzi in 1991. This iceman was dated to be at least 5300 years old. Oetzi’s tattoos were consist of vertical and horizontal lines and the most common idea is that the tattoos were done for medical purposes as Oetzi’s 57 tattoos are all located over various joints on the body to help relieve painful joints. Some mummies found in Russia over 2400 years of age instead of lines, their tattoos are in the form of animals both real and imagery. Many of these tattoos are thought to be decorative while others are thought to be symbolising status rank.
Tattoos on mummies consisting of dot-and-dash patterns have been seen for many years throughout Egypt, suggesting that this art form was restricted to women only, usually who have association with ritualistic practice. These mummies give us the knowledge of how art was displayed back in the ancient times.
Throughout time tattoos and the reasons why people get tattoos has drastically changed, varying from expressing emotions and feelings, ranking and status to just purely for cosmetics. In the past particularly in World War II, tattoos were a necessity for people in the military for identification. The pledge to stay with a platoon or your commitment to your country was symbolised with a piece of artwork that did not fade. Tattoos were recognised to be the deviants of society because they were ‘not’ part of the ‘mainstream’ society and people who displayed tattoos were seen as not wanting to fit in. But because of the military personnel that fought and proudly displayed their tattoos, overcame the assumption of tattoos not part of mainstream society.
The availability of tattoos, the convenience, the designs and the prices of tattoo work in today’s era also made tattoos more mainstream and more accessible. In the past, the only elite and the well respected had tattoos for example King George V, King Oscar of Sweden, Sir Winston Churchill’s mother and even King Harold. At this time tattoos were very expensive and were an unavailable form of art to the mainstream society, ultimately attracting the higher society.
There are many reasons behind getting a tattoo, but there are also different ways to interpret the meaning of particular symbols people get tattooed. One tattoo that has become popular over the years became a generic symbol for gang and non-gang members of all races. It is the teardrop tattoo. It evolved in appearance and meaning. Teardrop was once believed to mean that the wearer had served time in prison, but nowadays it can mean that the wearer has killed someone or that they’ve lost a gang member or family member. The teardrop can also mean that the wearer has done or is doing prison time. In Australia penal system, it is being said that child molesters or sexual predators are forced to get the teardrop tattoo to alert others of these crimes they commit.
Just one little symbol has all different meanings behind it, but at times, the reason getting a tattoo is purely something for you to remember for the rest of your life because it has meanings to only yourself. Larry Hughes (basketball player) has 2 teardrop tattoos placed beneath his left eye due to the loss of his brother. To remember him, he decided to get 2 teardrops and he states that he did not realise the gang related significance that tattoo actually has.
There are 2 distinct teardrop tattoos in today’s society; the open teardrop which is simply an outline of the teardrop shape and the closed teardrop which is a filled in teardrop. Depending on the wearer this tattoo may or may not be filled in. Now there’s a 3rd type described as a ‘half’ teardrop, meaning only half is filled in. This is supposed to symbolise the fact that someone close to the wear was being killed and the wearer then killed the assailant. Who really knows the true meaning behind this tattoo? There are multiple meanings and only the wearer would know it, whether it is worn in memory of someone, worn as a reminder to others the wearer is a murderer or just worn out of sheer stupidity. Same goes with other symbols, only the wearer him/herself would know the true meaning behind the tattoo he/she is wearing.
Tattoos have been practiced from a very long time in civilized human history as a form of body art. There are meanings and maybe even stories behind each tattoo and purpose of getting it done. History has changed how people have interpreted tattoos; once what seems as deviant has truly become an integral part of our new generations’ fashion.
