25 Virtual Field Trip: The Ainu, Japan

Select an image to view larger:

The practice of modifying one’s body by marking it has been present from ancient times. And the evidences of tattoo practice are scattered worldwide. Here the question arise what made people think of marking their body? Tattoo in many indigenous community is a part of their culture and it is done on men, women and sometimes on the children too, but they signify a different meaning to the different members of the society. Tattoo is often associated with spirituality, power, and gender. Therefore, to trace back the necessity of marking the body could be possibly for gaining control over something through a symbol that is tattoo and it is done on the body as body is the only thing that we own, therefore the marks that are tattooed in the body is the symbol of owning something. In tribal community tattoos are done after puberty as the symbol of being sexually matured or sometime after achieving some certain ranks in the society in case of men, and often married women are marked by tattoo as a symbol of marriage.”

-Archita Dey and Kaustav Das, Department of Anthropology University of Calcutta, from Why We Tattoo? Exploring the Motivation and Meaning