Tattoo • ology

The history of tattoos is soaked in rich tradition and heritage. It has been around for centuries. Throughout its age-old history, there has always been some ritual associated with tattoos. For instance, women in Borneo wore tattoos as a symbol of their skills. Tattoos have been known to ward off evils, diseases and ill-luck as people wore them around their fingers and wrists. They have also been used to demarcate a specific sect or clan.

The rationale of tattoos has differed from one culture to another during the centuries. While one school of thought believes that tattoos originated from Egypt during the time of pyramids, another school believes that they were in existence even before this. According to history, Egyptians used tattoos to differentiate slaves and peasants. Tattoos spread its wings to China and then to Greece around 2000 B.C. where it was used as a mode or communication between spies.

The practice of tattoos were seen amongst the Japanese people also, where they used it mainly as ceremonial or religious rites. Borneo women, during this period were the tattoo artists. Their designs symbolized what the person’s view of life was and the clan he belonged to. Tattoos were not without its risk of infection even in those days. They were a long way off from achieving perfection in this art, which is evident from the processes followed.

Tattoos made its presence in the western world too. A lot of credit for its revival goes to an explorer called William Dampher who introduced a heavily-tattooed prince to the western world in 1961. Dampher used the prince for exhibitions and ended up making a lot of money. Soon tattoos caught the fancy of people through out London and its surrounding areas. Before this event, tattoos were not seen or heard of for nearly 600 years.

America got its first taste of tattooing from Chatham Square, located in New York. This was a place which was frequented by people from all over the US, especially the rich and famous. A man called Samuel O’Reily set us his tattoo shop in this area and he was the first man to use a electric tattoo gun. Interestingly, the earlier electric tattoo gun was based on the principle promulgated by Thomas Edison in his electric pin, used to puncture paper. It featured moving coils, a needle bar and a tube, seen even in today’s electric guns. Soon the electric gun gained popularity and many people went for tattoos which was available at a substantial price. This gun actually revolutionized the process of tattooing with its speed and convenience and became a godsend to many tattoo artists. This was also responsible in popularizing tattoos in general, as many people found it extremely convenient for getting their tattoos done the electric way.

The ‘60s saw tattoos making national headlines on TV, newspaper and was the hot topic of discussion in social circles. It became so popular that at one point of time nearly half of the American population had at least one tattoo. It is still very common amongst bikers and other clans as a symbol of affiliation. The variety of designs, shapes and the multitude of colors used today are responsible for making tattoos highly popular.

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