Dive Tattoos The wordTattoo derives from
was banished under the (Holy) Roman Empire of Emperor Constantine, a Christian convert who decreed that the human body was made in the image of God and was not to be defiled. Over the centuries Christian missionaries throughout the world were intent on eradicating the tattoo among the ‘heathens’. By the fourth century tattooing was almost non-existent in western societies. The for and against fight for the tattoo has struggled through the ages. If there’s a take away in any of this history, it is that we do love to break the rules and to be the masters of our own destiny. And you might think that somewhere in the mists of time past, along that long road of contention, we earned the right to bear the tattoo, even in the face of public opinion out of step with relaxed laws. But you’d be wrong if you do. There is acceptance in more jurisdictions now, though it’s quite recent. But in some places the tattoo is still frowned upon, if not reviled, it just depends on geography and culture. Some Asian countries such as Vietnam and South Korea are certainly not keen on them. Even in Japan tattoos are still seen as subversive. In Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain and Kuwait tattoos are under cover, literally. Conflicting reports suggest that tattoo bans do exist, in places. In general they remain stigmatized, and not in keeping with Islamic tradition.
Even in the land of the free and the brave, tattoos are only just legal, comparatively speaking. In 1961 a Hepatitis B scare prompted a tattoo ban in New York, lifted only in 1997. Oklahoma was the last state in the union to legalize tattooing, in 2006. Of course, there’s been a bustling underground industry all the while. Today tattoos are legal across the USA and Canada though certain prohibitions remain for the under age. And if there’s a military career in your future you’ll want to check out their rules before any ink goes on that soon-to-be-shaved head.
Ocean Origins
Any cursory research reveals that it was in more recent history that sailors - in the late 1700s and 1800s - brought the art of tattooing home from their voyages of exploration among the Pacific’s south sea islands. In fact, the word tattoo derives from the Polynesian words tatau or ta tatau, meaning ‘to mark’ or to tap a mark (into the skin).
22 Magazine
It was in 1769 that Captain James Cook, aboard HMS Endeavour, first encountered the Tahitians who tapped a rake-like device of needles with a stick to embed pigment beneath the skin. This practice came home with his sailors, some of whom undoubtedly bore tattoos as well, and the west has never been the same since. Sailor’s ink evolved, as did the meaning and placement of the tattoos, allowing at a glance for one sailor to ‘read’ another’s story. Here are a few meanings. The swallow: for every 5,000 nautical miles traveled and because this bird always finds its way home. The nautical star: so the sailor could always find his way home. Crossed cannons: signify military naval service. Shellback turtle: earned when initiated into King Neptune’s Court after crossing the equator. Full-rigged ship: for the sailor who’s been around Cape Horn. The anchor: for the sailor who’s crossed the Atlantic or is in the Merchant Marines. A knot of rope around the wrist: a sailor’s rank as a deckhand. Hula girl: U.S. sailors who had been to Hawaii. Crosses: on the soles of the feet ward off hungry sharks.
On his second voyage to Tahiti, Cook brought home a tattooed islander named
by a wave design, symbolizes both life and death, a place where ancestors live. The turtle shell symbolizes longevity, wellness, fertility, peace. Sea shells symbolize a shield, protection, life experience, and more. Their Enata motif , a kind of stick figure, represents humans and gods and in reverse, the enemy. This visual language of the Polynesians is inextricably linked to the sea and integral in oral and written histories of the tattoo. And it’s noteworthy that Charles Darwin,
whose exploits through the 1800s followed in the wake of Cook, observed that there was no region from one pole to the other where he did not find people with tattoos.
Game Changer
the Polynesian words tatau or ta tatau, meaning to mark
Omai. He was exotic. He was also a mannered man of grace and dignity who did much to change the European view of these tattooed people as ‘savages’. Thanks in part to Omai, the tattoo gained acceptance and in time became a sought after accessory of the complete gentleman.
And here’s a fact from the social anthropology file that divers with their multi- hued marine life tattoos will appreciate: Tohu, Tahitian god of tattooing, painted all the fishes of the sea, giving them their bright colours, lines and patterns. Because man liked the appearance of these fish so much he copied from them creating body tattoos that are deeply symbolic with meaning, not just for the individual, but for indigenous Pacific islanders all across the vast reach of an oceanic culture. This, in time, influenced European society, and the world. The designs are sacred, as Nike discovered last month when it recalled its Pro Tattoo Tech tights for women, which featured the Samoan Pe’a pattern of lines and triangles that is reserved exclusively for men as part of a right of passage symbolizing courage and commitment to cultural tradition. The undersea world, it turns out, figures prominently in the origin of tattoos from Polynesia, where the sea itself, represented
The western world’s embrace of the tattoo as a mark to symbolize a milestone, a profound experience, an essential pursuit, a lasting achievement, is not so different in this contemporary age. As ever this indelible mark speaks to the life lived, to choices made. The art and craft as we know it has existed for little more than a century. In 1891 New York tattoo artist Sam O’Reilly patented his invention - the tattoo machine. Before this tattoos were imposed by a variety of handheld implements. In Japan today some masters of the art still practice Tebori, a hand method thousands of years old. And no discussion of the tattoo is complete without a consideration of the Japanese contribution, which dates back many hundreds of years, but flourished in the 18th century amid the popular culture of Edo, which later became Tokyo. It was during this time the Japanese woodblock print was developed to illustrate novels, to advertise theatrical productions and, more widely, to portray urban life of the time. About mid century a Chinese novel titled Suikoden featuring tattooed heroes was later released in Japan, illustrated with Japanese prints that reinterpreted the tattoos described in the book. This novel (and the woodblock print) influenced Japanese art and culture, including the art of the tattoo. Another event from mid 18th century Japan tells of a government edict allowing only royals and the wealthy to wear elaborately embroidered kimonos. The under classes were outraged and began tattooing equally elaborate ‘body suits’ on themselves, hidden beneath their clothing. In 1870 tattoos were officially outlawed, making body suits even more appealing to the Yakuza, then just misfits and outlaws who had migrated to Edo looking for a better life. The Yakuza has prevailed to become Japan’s present day underworld crime organization. Their elaborate images have raised tattoo craft to high art. Scenes of their provocative (illegal) behaviour serve as status symbol and a means of identification among themselves. Millennia later the tattoo’s relationship with Japanese officialdom remains tenuous.
Photo: Russell Clark
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