October 15, 1999

While you might think that the rose you had tattooed on your shoulder or the "Semper Fi" slogan you had permanently embossed on your bicep is a new and profound statement of your identity, this is only partly true. Such statements may be profound, but they are not new. In fact, in many areas around the world, people have tattooed their bodies or performed "cicatrization" (a form of ritual scarring) for thousands of years.

"C" is for Scar...

In many areas of Africa and in parts of Australia, for example, people use "cicatrization" as a form of adornment. Cicatrization, a term that derives from cicatrice (French for "scar"), is the process by which men and women deliberately scar their bodies in elaborate patterns as a form of decoration. The care with which the scars are applied can result in the same intricately-detailed patterns as tattooing, and yet cicatrization is more popular with darker-complexioned people because it is more visible than tattooing.

The pattern of the scars is often unique to each group that practices the art, and for each group, the scars serve as symbols of beauty, strength, and status. In Angela Fisher's book, Africa Adorned, she explains that the Murle, a group living in southern Sudan, decorates the faces and chests of its children with intricate, circular-patterned scars. Many other peoples in Africa, such as the Shuwa of Nigeria and the Yoruba people of West Africa, also use scarring as a form of adornment. These scars can communicate a wide variety of messages within a group: a person's age, his wealth or status, or whether he or she has reached adulthood.

Left: Cicatrization in Africa, early 20th century photo.

...And "I" is for Tattoo

Among lighter-skinned people in other parts of the world tattooing is often more popular than cicatrization. Tattooing is an ancient art, practiced around the world for centuries. It was known to the Egyptians more than 5,000 years ago, to the Celts 3,000 years ago (see History Repeats Itself...), and is commonly practiced throughout Asia, the South Pacific and in North America and Europe. Some famous tattoo-bearers include: Tsar Nicholas of Russia, Lady Randolph Churchill (mother of Winston) and George V!

In Japan, tattooing has been elevated to an art form, known as irezumi. Irezumi was most popular in the 17th and 18th centuries of Japan. During this time, wealthy merchants, who were not permitted to wear the expensive silks, brocade and kimono reserved for the aristocracy, tattooed themselves in secret. The tattoo designs included dragons, flowers, animals, and human figures and emerged as powerful symbols of identity.

Because the unadorned body was not considered aesthetically appealing, irezumi flourished as a means of decorating and embellishing it. Irezumi gained such popularity in Japan that there is even a museum devoted to this unique work of art. The Yokohama Tattoo Museum in the Tokyo Medical School contains a number of tattooed skins.

For some, tattooing has a special spiritual significance. Among Ainu women (the Ainu are an indigenous group people living on the island of Hokkaido in Japan), the upper lips are tattooed in order to protect them from evil spirits. The process commences in childhood, and by the time the girl is ready to marry, the blue-black moustache may extend from ear to ear.

A more extreme example of tattooing exists in the Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea, where some tattoo their pubic region and thighs at puberty as a sign of sexual maturity, independence and beauty.

Tattooing is also quite popular in Western Europe and North America. Pick up any tattooing magazine and inside you'll see examples of men and women with all sorts of elaborate tattoos on their chests, buttocks, arms and genitals. In addition, many women have their eyelids and lips tattooed with permanent eye- or lip-liner. A recent article in The New York Times reports that for those unwilling to have their own skin tattooed, a Tokyo-based artist group known as Orga creates and sells handmade tattooed leather garments. The tattooed clothing, which ranges in price from $1,450 to $40,000 for a floor-length coat incorporates many traditional Japanese tattoo motifs, such as cranes and bamboo.

But why tattoo or scar the body in the first place? For many, these forms of dress are a sign of independence, or an expression of political/religious/cultural beliefs. For others, they are symbols of beauty, status or sexual orientation. Whatever symbolism they hold, scars and tattoos truly allow the wearer to make her mark.

October 15, 1999

Bibliography:

Boucher, Francois. 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1965.

Chaplin, Julia. "Leathery Body Language." The New York Times. 30 December 2001, Sec. 9, p. 3.

Cohen, David, ed. The Circle of Life: Rituals from the Human Family Album. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1991.

Davidson, Basil. African Kingdoms. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1966.

Davis, F. Hadland. Myths and Legends: Japan. Boston: David D. Nickerson & Co., 1910.

Fisher, Angela. Africa Adorned. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1984.

Kennett, Frances. Ethnic Dress. New York: Facts on File, 1994.

Ledesdale, Lord, GCVO, KCB, Tales of Old Japan. London: MacMillan and Co., Ltd., 1908.

Robinson, Julian. The Quest for Human Beauty: An Illustrated History, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1998.

Sichel, Marion. Japan, New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.

Unknown. The Secret Museum of Mankind, New York: Manhattan House, date unk.

Photo Credits:

1. Anonymous, The Secret Museum of Mankind, Manhattan House, New York, date unk.