Researcher: Karen R. Beal
BealFlossmoor@msn.com
Student 15
Topic
Description:
This paper will explore the practice of irreversible and reversible tattooing and it’s cross cultural significance and sociological meaning. It will examine the role of the body in social, political and ethical relations. This discussion will address the beautiful art of henna (mehndi) which is a reversible or temporary art form of tattooing and the irreversible form. Each lends itself to a rich enduring history, which transcends time. We will journey to Egypt, Japan, Polynesia, England, and the United States. The socio-cultural implications of the resurgence of this art form in today’s popular culture will be explored.
Discussion of
Topic:
Mehndi (me-hin-de) is a traditional Eastern Folk Art form of adorning the hands and feet with a paste made from the finely ground leaves of the henna plant (Lawsonia inermis). It temporarily stains the skin to a deep reddish brown color or black. It is often referred to as temporary painless tattoos on the body. The term refers to the powder and paste and the design on the skin as well as the party or ceremony. Henna grows in hot climates and is found in India, Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan and other warm climates. One of the earliest documentation’s of henna dates back to ancient Egypt where henna was used to stain the toes and fingers of Pharaohs prior to mummification.
“The art varies from country to country and spanning different cultures. Largely, this is a gender specific art form engaged by females to mark special events in a woman’s life. Henna is representative of symbolic interactions among females. For instance, the most common use in India is for brides to be. Historically, mehndi has been an important part of the Hindu marriage rituals. During this time Indian women gather together to disclose the mysteries of married life to the bride-to-be. The new bride would be treated as a lady of leisure until her mehndi fades, elaborate designs and dark red stains are desirable.” The Mehndi design is culturally specific, for example; Arabic or Middle Eastern women prefer brown henna and adorn themselves with large floral patterns on hand and feet, conversely, In India, Hindu women use fine lacy floral and paisley designs covering hand, feet, forearms and shAlso, African females prefer black henna and adorn themselves with large, bold geometrically patterned angles. Asian and Middle Eastern henna is often reddish-brown. It is customary to apply the paste void of a design in order to cool the body.
The art of mehndi is still symbolic in many eastern countries, henna is deemed to hold certain medicinal and magical properties. It is used to heal certain skin diseases, prevent thinning hair and cool the skin to relieve swelling. The beverage of henna is known to relieve headaches and stomach problems. Newly purchased homes in Morocco apply henna to their doors to bring prosperity and chase away evil spirits. Henna is used at most rites of passage ceremonies such as births, betrothals, and religious holidays of Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Christians. Some symbols of mehndi designs remain today, such as the peacock (the national bird of India), the lotus flower and the elephant with a raised trunk are symbols of good luck and are popular images.
In the past decade, the art of Mehndi has resurged as a popular art form, among celebrities and teens. It is one of the latest crazes in Hollywood. Madonna made it famous in her “Ray of Light” videos; Liv Tyler showed it off on the cover of” Vanity Fair” and super model Naomi Campbell flashed it on the catwalk. Demi Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow have been seen sporting around in body art of Henna. This latest craze can be found in expensive shops in Los Angeles, New York and trendy teen shops throughout the United States. Teenagers and young girls, ranging in age from 13-17 are the primary customers. This trendy art form has become popular because of its painless application technique, and also because it is a temporary adornment.
There are a growing number of tattoo parlors augmenting their business or income by offering mehndi body art. Asian art, jewelry and clothing boutiques now offer mehndi body art.
Let’s take a look at tattoos and it’s rich expansive controversial history. Tattooing has been practiced by numerous cultures and has survived mankind’s history dating back to primitive tribal markings to postmodern society. Gerald Grumet, M.D. stated, “In many savage tribes it was custom to accompany bereavement by slashing the body as evidence of grief and rubbing ashes into the cuts, leaving permanent carbon deposits on the skin “(Grumet, 1983, p.482). This evidence dates back to Stone Age, 12000 B.C. (Grumet, p.482).
The body of a 4,000 tattooed man was found in a glacier on the Austrian border in 1992. Egyptians in the period from 4000-2000 B.C. identified tattooing with fertility and nobility. The Mummy of Amunet was found at Thebes. Amunet was priestess of Hathor (the Egyptian goddess of love), All tattooed Egyptian mummies found to date are female. the location of the tattoos on the lower abdomen re thought to be linked to fertility.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, European sailors (Captain Cook)
traveling through the Polynesian island saw extensive tattooing on both
men and women and subsequently brought back this art form on the arms of
sailors. The word tattoo originated from the Polynesian work :tatua”
which translated means artistic (Ferguson-Rayport, Griffith and Strauss
1955). Tattow designs illustrated figures of men, dogs, birds, landscapes,
and plants. Tattoo designs are thought to indicate the origins of
the Polynesians because they bear close resemblance to the designs found
on Lapita pottery. The Lapita originated in Melanesia and Southeast
Asia about 3,00 B.C. and early Lapita voyagers reached Tonga around 1,300
B.C., later settling in the Samoa and traveling eastward into the Pacific
.
Since the 5th century B.C. the Japanese have used tattooing for ornamental,
cosmetic, and religious purposes as well as for identification and punishment
of criminals. The Japanese word for tattoo isirezumi (insertion of
ink) has meaning associated with criminality and yakuza (Japanese Mafia).
Traditionally the Japanese artists tattoos the entire body, “Body Suit”
it is a single major design and is usually symbolic of courage, loyalty,
devotion or obligation, these of virtures becomes part of the person.
Krakow (1994) stated, “The Japanese Body Suit originated around 1700 as
a reaction to presumptory laws, regulating diet, dress and other forms
of conspicuous consumption among the various social classes: (p20).
During the nineteenth century tattooing flourished in England due in
large part of the British Navy which began with the first voyage of Captain
Cook. In the late nineteenth century, tattooed royalty in England
and European countries were fashionable. Lady Randolph Churchill
had a snake tattooed around her wrist. “ Other fashionable
designs were sweethearts, the Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament, the
Imperial Institute and British battleships.
Tattooing in America originated on sailing vessels in the 1700’s and
1800’s. It was believed that tattooing was done to combat boredom,
promote interaction and have a permanent reminder of the ports of call.
Grumet (1996). “ The earliest written records of American tattooing are
found in ships’ logs, letters and diaries written by seamen during the
early part of the nineteenth century. Tattoo designs of that historical
period were often red and black, compositions of religious, patriotic and
nautical themes. Some of these designs represent the navel engagements
that occurred during the Civil War and the Spanish-American Civil War.
The best known Civil War artist was German Martin Hildebrandt his
success inspired other artists to imitate him.”
“The application process of tattooing can be a painful process that
involves puncturing the skin with a sharp instrument and inserting pigment
through the outer layer, the epidermis, into the second layer, the dermas.
Tattoos are intended to be permanent; only recently have expensive laser
techniques allowed people to remove them. Tattoo patterns and techniques
have varied with different cultures. Traditional Polynesian tattooists
tap a needle with a small hammer, while the Japanese work with needles
set in wooden handles. In the West, the electric tattoo machine has
revolutionized tattooing, expanding the ease of application and the range
colors and designs.”
Tattoos send important cultural messages: a commitment to a particular
group, a symbol of a rite of passage and even a fashion statement.
Tattooing has been an emblem of high rank in certain societies, rebellion
and low social status in others. Despite numerous religious and social
injunctions, tattooing has been a popular form of body art throughout the
world.
In the 1990s there was a distinct evolution of cultural status relating
to the art of tattooing. This mainstream resurgence of tattooing,
what was once considered low class or threatening in the 60s has been redefined
as hip, trendy, and glamorous in the 90s. Formerly the art form was
predominately adorned by prison inmates, motorcycle gangs, social deviant
gangs, and military personnel. The increased popularity among the
youth is an example of moral passage. There has been increased tattooed
wearing among the middle class population and celebrities. This elevation
of engagement among these aforementioned populations engenders an equalizing
or legitimizing factor that lends itself to popular culture. Significant
mean is a major part of selecting a tattoo and wearing it. Most individuals
choose for identity purpose, or belonging to a particular group or simply
freedom of expression. However, symbolic meaning is prevalent, couples
are getting tattooed before taking their marriage vows, one may choose
a heart as a symbol of love or across as a symbol of religious
faith. Chicago Bulls basketball player Dennis Rodman will be forever remembered
for his tattoos and not to mention his blond hair. Cher also has
worn tattoos for a number of years. Today, tattoos are routinely
seen on musicians, rock stars, fashion models, business professionals,
college students, movie stars and sports figures.
Methods:
I collected information from various Internet sites and related
books on body art.
Findings and Data:
Current estimates have one in seven, or over 40 million people in North America alone have at least one tattoo. The U.S. News and World Report reported that tattooing today is the sixth-fastest growing retail business in the United States, only internet/paging services, bagels, computers, and cellular phone stores experienced more economic growth (Lord 1977). The single fastest growing demographic group seeking tattoo services is middle-class suburban women. In an “unpublished survey by the FDA, a survey of10,000 U.S. households” found that 3 percent of the general population, and 5 percent of males, sported tattoos (http//vm.cfsan.fda.gov). A 1994 study, McConnell and Armstrong’s “tattooing in Adolescent, “ polled 642 adolescent in six Texas high schools, found that 16.4 percent of teens already had tattoos, 33 percent of the uninked were still “interested in tattooing.” The average for first tattoos was 14 years, with 57 percent sticking with one tattoo, while 39 percent had already had two or more.
A second survey, reported in 1997 (Armstrong and Murphy’s “tattooing: Another Adolescent Risk Behavior Warranting Health Education”) polled 2,101 teens from eight junior and senior hgh schools across the U.S..S., found that 10 percent of respondents reported having tattoos, 55 percent of those sporting a tattoo were girls.
Why do kids want to decorate their bodies with permanent art? Forty-four percent “just wanted one” and sixteen percent did so “for the heck of it”, twenty-three percent wanted to be independent or express themselves.
In November 1999, “Tattooing and Body Piercing” appeared in Clinical
Nursing Research (coauthored by Myrna L. Armstrong, a professor at Texas
Tech University). This study looked at tattooed and pierced students
at 18 American universities and one Australian university. The study
included earlobe piercing and temporary tattoos. The reason these
college students get tattooed or pierced: 50 percent saw it as a means
of self expression, and 48 percent “just wanted one.” 76 percent
didn’t bother to tell their parents that they intended getting inked.
Conclusion:
Body art is one of the oldest art forms known to mankind and it’s
appeal crosses souci-economic and cultural barriers. It is a universal
or global mode of symbolism, meaning and social communication and thus
lends body art its enduring qualities. It has endured because mankind
has valued this particular art form throughout the ages. Art dies
as like anything else does when populations don’t support it. The inculcation
of the middle class in the engagement of body art has had profound affects
on the legitimization of the art of tattooing in popular culture.
This socialization process is turning a once thought of degenerate business
into booming and respectable industry. I think it is fair to say that this
has a correlation to the theory of mass consumerism. This social
encounter has worked to overcome the negative meanings associated with
tattooing and subsequently has brought this art form in mainstream of norms
and values.
1) http//www.geocities.com/curcka/park/7445/mehndi.htm
2) Ibid.1.
3) http://eserver.org/zine375/issue2/zine11.html
4) Ibid.1.
5) Ibid.1.
6) The Art of Mehndi,Sumita Batra, Lisz Wilde, Penguin USA, May
1999.
7) http://www.coffeetimes.
com/tattoos.htm
8) http://www.vh.org/Patients/IHB/Derm/Tatto/
9) http://www.vh.org/Patients/IHB/Derm/Tattoo/
10) Gilbert,Steve.2000 Tattoo History: A Source Book. N.Y. Juno
Books p.103.
11) Gilbert, Steve.2000 Tattoo History: A Source Book.N.Y.Juno
Books p.124-25.
12) http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/bodyart/glossary.html
13) http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/body
art/glossary.html
14) http://www.vanishingtatto.com/
15) Libbon, Robert P.Amerocam Demographics 26 22, no. 9 (Sept
2000)p.26ISSN:0163-4089 Number:60047134 Copyright PRIMEDIA intertec Sept
2000.