Revival of Tribal Tattoo Art and Their Different Forms

The origin and the emergence of tribal art and tribal tattoos are interesting topics to explore. The different tribal designs are gaining immense popularity in recent times.

Emergence of Tribal Tattoos

Tribal tattoos have been in existence since ages. Earlier these tattoos were used as demarcations between different tribes, social classes and sects. Each tattoo was associated with the wearer’s social or racial status. But today these tribal tattoos have emerged as a popular body art that has no specific associations with the wearer’s status and is not considered as an exclusive symbol of belongingness.

While some of the tribal tattoos are self-motivated expressions of freedom and individuality, others are associated with individual’s religious and spiritual beliefs and personal convictions. Exhibiting mystic charm, the tribal tattoos are perfect skin ornamentations that can be styled and customized to suit one’s preferences.

With more and more discovery of ancient practices and traditions, the tribal tattoo has acquired greater prominence. Research on tribal arts and lifestyles have brought tribal tattoos to the forefront and led to the growing interest of people in these tattoos. However, there has been a considerable shift in the significance of tribal tattoos. While in ancient days, these tattoo had a deeper meaning for the wearers, today they are nothing more than a modern style of skin decoration.

The mystic charm of these tribal tattoos are influenced by the tribal art that was prevalent among different tribes like Celtics (tribal people living in Ireland, Scotland and Wales), the Maoris (tribal people native to New Zealand), the tribal people of North American, African origin and the indigenous residents of Borneo.

Types of Tribal Tattoos

There are several tribal tattoo designs that have been popular since ages. Some of the tribal tattoos that are classified on the basis of their tribal origin are enumerated below:

Celtic Tattoos
These Celtic designs are the most popular tribal tattoos that owe their credit to the Celtic art. The design comprises several knots or loops with no starting and ending point. It is associated with the never ending cycle of death and rebirth. Animal tattoo designs like were dragon, lion etc were prevalent in the Celtic tribes.

Maoris tribal Tattoos
These tattoos owe their origin to Maoris tribe of New Zealand. The designs were used to depict ones prestige or pride and also the transition from one social status to one another.

North American Tribal Art
Among the North American tribes, the tribal tattoos denoted rank within the tribe. Different types of weapons were tattooed on their skin.

Borneo Tribal Art
Tattooing had a completely different concept for the Borneo tribes. According to them, they could actually draw energy from the spirits of the tattooed image or creature because they believed that spirits are present in everything surrounding them.

There are some other tribal tattoo arts like Samoa Tribal art and African Tribal art that do not use pigments for tattooing. Instead in these art forms the skin was carved or cut with a sharp object and the wound created was the tattoo design.