The History of Borneo (Tribal) Tattoo Art
Traditional Borneo tribal tattoos are thick black spirals and circles similar to what we call “tribal tattoo” in the modern western world today. However, the original Borneo tribal tattoo was focusing on nature designs like animals, trees, fruits, and leaves.
This region still practices the traditional tattooing techniques that they have been using throughout their history. Headhunting was a big part of this history, and tattoo art is interwoven with this culture. The many different tribes of Borneo integrated tattoos into their rituals and social structure.
Archeology shows that the tribes and peoples of Borneo date back as far as 50,000 years. It is not known how far back tattooing stretches into this history, but it is theorized that these ancestors are the ones spread the tattoo art throughout Polynesia and surrounding areas.
Some of the tribes will mark the back of the hands of men who have taken a head. If this man only helped with the successful headhunt, he usually would only get one finger inked. On the other end of the spectrum, headhunter heroes not only got the backs of their hands tattooed, they got designs inked on their thighs. One of the more decorative designs that is popular with a lot of the tribes of Borneo is that of the dog.
Women of the region are marked with complicated tattoo designs that cover the backs of hands, whole forearms, whole thighs and the metatarsal surfaces of feet. These tattoos can take up to four years to complete and are started around the age of ten years old. It was important for the tattoos to be finished before the woman got pregnant because it is against tradition to have tattoos once she is a mother.
It is thought that their body art acts as a torch when they enter the next world. Women are only tattooed by other women. Borneo tattoos for both men and women involve primitive tools that are very painful. The tattoo artist has an assistant that sits on the person receiving the tattoo so that they can use their feet to stretch the area of the skin being inked nice and tight.
Tribal Tattoo Pictures
The Meaning of Tribal Tattoos
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