A tattoo can be a sign of many things. Many people in our society have used tattoos to show a difference in background or as a status symbol. In this essay we seek to understand and study the history of the tattoo and its original purpose. It has been worn by warriors, gangs, and rebellious teens as a body accessory.
To help gain an in-depth understanding of the tattoo, by extending my research beyond just history books and world wide information by visiting the most frequently visited tattoo studios in the city of St. Albans, a city steeped in history stretching as far back as the mighty Romans, who you will hear mention of later in the piece. By speaking to several tattoo artists I hope to seek out the opinions and advice of practicing professionals rather than only just rely upon books.
Tattoo originates from the Tahitian word "tatu" which means "to mark something" and became a traditional art form spread over many cultures and societies with its different meanings. Associated with elitist and even eroticism, the meaning of this art form continues to transform even to this day.
There is evidence of the existence of tattooing, 12,000 years before Christ. In recorded history, the earliest tattoos can be found in Egyptian times from as early as the XI dynasty. We know this from the bodies recovered by the Egyptologists. One of the most famous and written about mummies is that of Amunet, a priestess of the goddess Hathor, at Thebes. This female mummy displayed several lines and dots tattooed about her body. When the Egyptians expanded their empire, the art of tattooing spread as well, with notable examples discovered in the ancient civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia and Arabia. Gradually tattooing was taken up by other neighbouring cultures and by around 2000 BC had spread as far as China.
The Greeks used tattooing for communication among spies. Markings identified the spies and showed their rank. The Romans marked their criminals and slaves. The Ainu people of western Asia used tattooing to show social status and to mark their women. The Ainu are noted for introducing tattoos to Japan where it was developed into a religious and ceremonial rite that can be traced back to the Jomon period
(ca. 10,000 BC-300 BC) . Intensive archaeological study has uncovered several dogu figurines with facial markings, which the experts have identified as tattoos, proving the tattoo had been adopted as far away as the Pacific Rim before Christ was born.
Men, young and old, tattooed their faces and decorated their bodies with designs? A son of the ruler of Shao-K'ang of Hsia, when he was offered as lord of K'uai-chi, cut his hair and decorated his body with designs in order to avoid the attack of serpents and dragons. The Wa (Japanese), who are fond of diving into water to get fish and shells, also decorated their bodies in order to keep away large fish and waterfowl. Later, however the designs became merely ornamental. Goodrich 1951 wrote that there was clear evidence that designs on the body differed with the various countries, their position and size varying according to the rank of the individual. These references show this art form has been around Asia for many centuries and even today is evident in the Japanese culture.
In the late 1700's the famous explorer Captain Cook made several trips to the South Pacific. London society revealed in his stories and embraced both the art and artifacts he brought back to the West. On his return from his second trip, Cook brought back one artifact, which would yet again make a sensation in London, a heavily tattooed Polynesian male called Omani. Soon after, members of the higher society were demanding and getting smaller discreetly placed tattoos of their own. The great Omani was seen as a noble savage, and though his tour was clearly a more refined version, he was regarded as a sideshow exhibit. Already the tattoo was starting to become a Fad or fashion accessories.
It often amazes people when they hear that people such as, King George V, King Oscar of Sweden, Sir Winston Churchill's mother, Grand Duke Alexis of Russia and even King Harold were tattooed. While this portion of society is small their influences have prevailed in establishing mainstream ideology. Tattoo, was at one time, a very expensive and unavailable form of art to mainstream society, which reinforced the attraction to those who regarded themselves amongst the elite.
After the second world war the tattoo was once again seen as the mark of the deviants within society. Rebellious boys and girls resorted to the tattoo, based on the notion that to have a tattoo was to outside "mainstream" society. This marked them in a way that displayed their ideology of not wanting to take part in mainstream social order. Soon the military personal that fought for his or her country, who previously displayed with pride their tattoos, began to cover them with shame. Tattooing once again fell from grace.
The movement throughout society to regard tattoo as something deviant, and/or savage, was mainly because of mainstream ideology. The culture surrounding the art form had never felt that tattoos were a deviant practice, even though many tattooists often spoke of physically fighting with customers. However the art world did go through transformations and the people related to the art were soon associated with deviants. The best known groups of the time being bikers, who received tattoos to pledge their fraternities within their particular group. Most often displaying their "colors" or slogans of the group, these bikers fought amongst themselves and caused mayhem where ever they went, often ending up jail, once again giving the impression that tattooing followed the deviant.