Since the very beginning, man had used differentways to show-offhis feelings and innerpersonality. This showing off is pretty much apparent in the manner a person dresses and the stuff he or she wears. For example, many people love wearing military t-shirts because they symbolize courage, bravery and strength. Although a military t-shirt is something of a general nature, there are a lot of personalized ways of showing off individuality and personality. One of the ways that have been around since a long time is the art of tattooing.
For a long time, it was believed that tattoos emerged from Egypt as mummies of several pharaohs indicated the marks of tattoos in different places places. Yet, a 5300 year old mummy of Otzi the Iceman also had tattoo inscriptions on his skin. This proves that tattooing has been an art since the ancient times. The purpose behind those inscriptions remains uncertain. One more prehistoric body discovered in Russia shows a significant amount of body prints with magical and mythical creatures and real beasts. A number of such mummies were laterdiscovered from the same area, all of which had a surplusnumber of such tattoos around their bodies. As the Egyptian empire spreadwider, the tattoo tradition and artstarted to spreadfurther and further. In India, however, henna was also used to make designs on the skin. These designs were only for beautification purpose. In Greek, tattooing is said to have been employed for a real purpose for the very first as spies were marked with identification marks and secret codes, on the other hand, Romans started to use tattoos to mark their prisoners. This kind of tattooing is still employed in Rome and many other areas.
In Samoan Islands, tattoo is also a part of ancient tradition which shows the social standing of a person. The chief of the tribe is usually the one with heaviest tattooing. A proper ceremony is held in which younger chiefs get their marking to celebrate their coming of age. The marks are proudly carried as a symbol of their dedication to the culture.
Tattooing is considered a very crucial element of New Zealand’s culture. Moko art is a very prime example of the skills and mastery they have gained along with time. People used carving techniques for this purpose.
The Indonesian Borneo tribe still uses its ancient method of making marks on the face and body. Their designs are very common in the western world and most people prefer the tribal art designs which in real are of Borneo origin. Like Borneo, there are several tribes in Africa which have a tradition of body art and design and because of their black skin color, these people preferred scarification rather than paint. This old art is said to have entered the modern western world along with the sailors and prisonerswho were sent to England by Captain Cook. It is hard to tell if it moved to America through the British or from South America. The pioneer of tattoo shop was opened n New York in 1846, and later, the electric tattooing machine took over. Since then, it has constantly gained popularity in those countries.
