TRIBAL TATTOO'S

Now time for more indepth research...

I'm coming to a holt with the broad research of tribes and am now looking more in depth at particular things within tribes. Tattoo's were hugely popular and meanigful within a tribe - so I am going to look into them and get a better understanding.

 _______________________________________________________

Tribal Body Art

 Tattooing has been around for a long time. It first originated independantly - for example, a certain tattoo would mean you were part of a particular tribe or group and showed who you are. They were, and still are, around to show different meanings such as status, tribe, meaning, beauty and many more. The tattoo's could be both negative and positive. Negative tattoo's refer to convicts, slaves and outcasts - a very different take on the inkings. 

After a while, the true meaning of tattoos got lost. They stopped meaning particular things and began more about beauty and art work. I am not sure if I want to use tattoo's within the look, but because they are so well known within a tribe it is clearly important that I should look into them. 

Here are some of the original tribes and their tattoo's: 

Amato - Maori Tribal Leader.

These are very popular with modern day designs. Found in New Zeland they are the most recognizable and strking out of them all. Originally, they are found around the mouth, chest, neck or arms of the warriors. They are very chunky and although they dont look pattern-planned, they are very intricute and well thought out. Reffered to as 'Moko', and no two moko's are the same. This shows the thought behind the tattoos. However, not only are these marks done as tattoos they are often popular within art work, such a sculpting, textiles and architecture.

http://ellencuningham.theworldrace.org/?filename=amato-maori-tribal-l

Fulani Tribe - Africa

This tribe is very popular with facial tattos. Not only do they have marks on the face, they also often ink their lips. On the women, having the bottom lip tattooed is a sign of beauty.

Mouth tattoos are becoming very popular again now in India and are trying to come to the UK. 

Ainu Tribe of Japan - Taiwan

Famous for their mouth tattoos. The people said that their tattoos grew with age, which made them look more and more beautiful. These are very simple tattoos, accompanied by subtle embroidery for styling. This is interesting for my ideas because it shows how I could incorporate something small into a look as opposed to something big and almost copied.

Mentawai Tribe - Indonesia.
This tribe is SO interesting! Its beautiful! Full of nature which look like such great accessories and accompanied by triangular hats! The tribe have the tattoos all over their body so this is very different from the others. The tattoos arent just there for nothing though, they are added over long periods of time to tell the story of that persons life. I really really love the head dresses as well, amazing!

Yakan People - Indigneous Tribe of Mindanao
The Yakan people are one of the majority Muslim groups that live in the hills of Mindanao. Their tattoos are very bold and strong on the face, hands and arms. I love this particular image because the tattoos are such a contrast between outfit and face, but work together so well.

Shuar People - Indigneous People of Ecuador and PeruThis is one of my favourite tribes. I love the head pieces, particularly in this photo. The tattoos are really interesting because they arent typical black. The really blend in with the outfits that they were which is a really important thing that I need to be looking at. Makeup anf Styling has to echo  this is a perfect example!

Atayal - Taiwanese Aboriginies
The tattoos on these Chinese tribal people are on the face. The are very strong and very bold. Again , they are interesting to look at when considering only adding a small tattoo into a look. The detail of the tattoo is amazing, they are so neat and small but intricately done. Such wonderful tattoos. Again, mixed with the accessories of beaded headpieces is such a typical tribal look, but it never looks the same.

Wodaabe Tribe - African Tribe
The Wodaabe tribe are really interesting. The men have more tattoos than the women because the women judge the men on their makeup before chosing who they will marry. (I wiah!). The colours are so earthy to match africa but its all just so amazing. They also have beauty pagents for their tattoos and makeup which shows how important it is for their tribe to be fully made up. The beaded accessories are so lovely as well, especially the head scarfs that have the dangling beads down the sides of the face. These frame the faces well and show all attention is on the makeup!

Chinook Tribe - India.

The tattoos of the Chinook tribe echoed the accessories these tribal people wore. The accessories were largely made up of beads and, if you look closely enough, the tattoos were often small dots that resembled this. This is a really important tribe for me to look at since I have been so interested in African and Aboriginal due to the accessories and colour. This allows me to consider how adding the tattoos to the look would work (if I wanted to go that far!!). They also used to flatten childrens heads between wood - but I dont think my models would let me quite go that far! 

Tribal tattoos are really amazing. They are so varied and different, yet so similar. They define a tribe or a status or a person in that tribe. They mean no one can stray to another tribe and everyone knows who you are. They have been modernised a lot and often used for the same reason. Many gangs will use tattoos to show who they belong with and who they are against. They can be both good and bad things, but always for defining a person or telling a story.