Tribal Tattoos - History & Symbolism

Characterized by their simple, black two-dimensional forms, tribal as a genre are in fact a collection of the tattoo styles of many different ancient tribes and cultures across the world. Falling under the tribal tattoo bracket is everything from Maori to Celtic designs, and far more beyond. For a quick but significant potted history: tribes from Borneo considered getting tattoos as a physical and spiritual marker; they believed that the ink on their bodies would give them special advantage in the afterlife. Samoan men had tattoos incorporated into the rituals that revolved around the transition from boyhood to manhood, covering their bodies in black with complex designs across the abdomen and the legs. For the Philippine tribes, a tattoo marked your emergence as a warrior and your first killing of an enemy. The blood spilt as part of the process of being tattooed was considered good for attracting spirits to watch over and protect your village and community. In Polynesia, being tattooed was a veritable ceremony, attended by all the friends and family of the man being tattooed, and the tattoo artist was singular in the community, his status hereditary and highly privileged. Kayan tribe members were only allowed to tattoo specific parts of their body according to whom, how many and in what way they had killed. The Maori were unique amongst tribes for being the only tribe to tattoo and scarify their faces as positive status signals; they used these tattoos for formidable appearance in battle and to woo their women. Tribal tattoos can be simple abstracted line and shape designs, or they can echo the forms of animals. Symbolism tends to revolve around concepts of power -strength, prowess and loyalty, hallmarks of the ideologies of the ancient cultures from whence they originated. It is a popularly stated opinion that you can’t call your tattoo ‘tribal’ unless it’s of black or dark blue ink. Modern tribal however will often set off complex black line-and-shape designs with bursts of surrounding colour in the background, which can render stunning results if done well. Tribal tattooing is also often mixed with other genres, providing a background for more colourful New School work – it’s not unusual to see some candy-coloured nautical stars thrown into the curves of a tribal piece these days. Artists to look out for include Dan DiMattia of Calypso, Belgium, Woody of ‘Thou Art’ custom tattoo in Sheffield and Isabelle Giguere of Excentrik, Montreal.