Body Art & Modification

By Sabrina Barekzai, Mariam Owais, Melinda Golden, Quinn Mathlin, John Everette, Amber Verbal, Tia Spaulding, Tyrone

Wade, John Dutch 

• most common form of body modification in North America is tattoos

•  having a tattoo has changed meaning over the years: went from being a mark of royalty, to popular among the U.S. Navy, being rebellious in the 1960's, and today is more pervasive, accepted, and common than ever

•  tattoos range from small and personal to big and obvious

• tattoos from other places in the world are very common in North America; Generation X is known for embracing the tattoo trend of  tribal symbols 

• the first tattoo shop was opened in 1846 by Martin Hildebrandt who inked Civil War soldiers from both sides with the names of their wives/girlfriends, it was seen as good luck

Tattoos In North America

Hawaiian Cultural Tattoos

• Form of celebration, a means of self expression and membership of a tribe.

• Tools used for ancient Polynesian tattooing are bird beaks, claws & large fish bones.

• The symbolism of tattoos was as a benchmark of privilege whereby the quantity and intricacy of tattoo designs defined one’s status.

• Hawaiian tattoo designs are bolder and larger than Maori or Samoan forms

Middle Eastern Tattoos!

Two Types:• Henna- Mostly used by

women,not permanent, and displayed on hands & feet.

• How-to:http://www.hennapage.com/henna/how/index.html

• Actual- Different meanings depending on the time when the person got the tattoo, where it's at, the color, etc.

The Tattoos of Russia

  · Russia’s tattoo history extends  far back as archeologically discovered  on a corpse supposedly belonging to A Scythian chieftain · Formerly a tattoo in Russia indicated relations to a subversive

or criminal underworld but has shifted as more prominent people have publicly displayed their own tattoos·Tattoos in Russia have political overtones ·There is a prison tattoo subculture that has been around for 150 years   

Asian Tattoos                Japan*The earliest evidence of tattooing in japan is found in the formof clay figurines which have faces painted or engraved torepresent tattoo marks.>>>>>>>>>>>*These figurines served as stand-ins for living individuals whosymbolically accompanied the dead on their journey into theunknown, and it is believed that the tattoo marks had religiousor magical significance.*The japanese were interested in the art mostly for its decorativeattributes, as opposed to magical ones. *The horis - the japanesetattoo artists - were the undisputed masters. Their use of colors,perspective, and imaginative designs gave the practice a wholenew angle. *The classic japanese tattoo, is a full body suit.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Historical Clay Figurines                                                              Japanese Full Body Suit

Body Art in Mexico

In mexico and central americareveal tattoos to be a sign of courage.when cortez and his conquistadors arrived on the coast of mexicoin 1519 they were horrified to discover that the natives had somehow managed to imprint indelible images of idols on their skin. the spaniards, who had never heard of tattooing,recognized it at once as the work of satan.

 

Prison Tattoos

• Tattoos in prison show a person's identity, whether it's a name, a gang sign, or some other symbol.

• The tattoos are done either free hand or with a homemade machine made out of things they find in the jail with the needle usually being a paper clip or a piece of guitar string.

• Prison tattoos are usually blue.  The sun may turn them a purple or black color, but for the most part, they're blue.  

• Gangs use the tattoos to separate themselves and each gang has its own symbols.

Meanings of certain tattoos

• Clock faces without hands- doing time• SWP- supreme white power• Cell window with sun or bird showing- Waiting to

get out• Face of female crying- has someone waiting

outside• Spider web- doing time.'• Teardrop tattoo- the wearer has killed someone or

had a friend killed in jail.• Three dots- represent the three places a gang

member can go: the hospital, jail, the grave.

African Body Art (Tattoos)

The history of tattooing in Africa  

• Dates back thousands of years. Until the recent discovery of [[Ötzi the Iceman]], the oldest known tattoos belonged to the mummy of Amunet, a priestess of the goddess Hathor somewhere between 2160 BC -1994 BC. With her simple parallel lines on her arms, legs, and an elliptical pattern below her navel, Amunet was the oldest glimpse we know had into tattooing in Africa, and the world. The designs found on her mummy, were believed to be symbols of fertility and rejuvenation. No male mummies in Egypt have been found with tattoos, but this does not mean they didn't exist, as male mummies have been found in Libya with tattoos of images relating to sun worship. In the tomb of Seti the first, dating back to around 1300 BC tattoos symbolizing Neith, a fierce goddess who led warriors into battle were also found on men. Very early tattoos portraying Bes, the god of sex and overseer of orgies have also been found on Nubian female mummies dating back to 400 BC.

 Tattoo Meanings  

• The great variety of tribes and peoples of Africa mean that it's hard to state all the reasons for tattoos, however, tribal hierarchy, geographical location (as in the case of the [[Makonde tribal tattoos]] from Mozambique), spiritual protection, and rites of passage feature highly as reasons for tattooing throughout Africa's past.

  

African Body Art    With the current resurgent trend in tribal tattoos, its surprising that African tattoos are not much more common in the western world of body art designs. However as beautiful as African Tribal designs are, do you understand the meanings behind themWell here are five facts that explore some of the lesser know ideals behind African Tribal Tattoo designs:Fact 1Some African body art are drawn to give the wearer protection from harm, the symbolism in the images guarding them throughout life.Fact 2African body art were never meant to be merely drawings for bodily decoration. They are drawn so that the wearer of the art can take on an almost Supernatural state. Given the term scarification, represent a way for the wearer to appear more than human.Fact 3African scarification or tattooing, often uses symbols that reflect the wearers character, and is used as proof of courage and braver; which are the things one needs to undergo the painful application of the body art.Fact 4The first African tattoo found was dated back to a mummy in 1994 BC, although it is estimated that there are tattoos dating back to 2000BC; and images showing Egyptian High Priestesses with tattooed arms have been found.Fact 5There is a type of body art that is done by those in Africa whose skin is generally too dark for regular tattoo coloration to appear. It is called cicatrisation and it works by opening a small part of the skin to create a designed wound. They then rub ash into the wound so that when it heals, it results in a permanent raised scar.

INDIA and it's use of HENNA 

 There are 2 types of Henna1. Celebrations2. Black Henna Henna is a form of expression in India to symbolize weddings, and religious holidays such as Diwali. (Festival of Lights). The extravagant designs symbolize happiness and life. Black Henna is fermented, dried indigo. It is called "black henna" because it could be used in combination with henna to dye hair black. The west started to see this practice during the 19th century.

Examples

 

??? 3 QUESTIONS ???1) Were you aware that in November of 2009 the military passed a new tattoo policy forbidding certain tattoos and types of piercings on certain areas of the body?         Do you think that it is fair for the USMC to deny access into the military because of tattoos that many have had way before this policy even came about? 2) Do you feel that the media has disorted the over all view of tattoos and their meanings?        ie. How they started as being religious and cultural symbols but now have evolved to fads... 3) Do you all feel that tattoos will be a thing of the future being that many careers and people have began to look down on it?

SourcesNorth American TattoosHawiian Tattoos Russia Russia two Middle Eastern pt1Middle Eastern pt2 India-Henna  Asian Tattoos

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