Oceanic Tribes

Did you know that pre pre columbians tribes used fire for smoke signals. I believe fire is important for a tribe to have. Fire is important because they used it to cook, keep warm, and to clear land. This is why I think fire is important.

The Nacirema tribe is a North American group with a highly developed market economy that has evolved into a rich natural habitat. The underlying belief of the Nacirema is the human body is ugly and that it has a tendency to weakness and illness. The Nacirema believe that the condition of one’s mouth has influence on their social relationships and believe that if not in good condition, their lovers will leave them, their gums will bleed and their teeth will fall out, etc. So in order to maintain a healthy mouth, they perform a mouth-rite which is one of their daily body rituals, but this certain one involves moving a bundle of hog hair with magical powders sprinkled throughout around their mouths in order to cleanse and protect. Nacirema rituals

It is this sort of strictly prescribed, highly ritualistic decoration that Beckwith and Fisher depict in African ceremonies. “ We have tried to show how body art is relevant to every stage of development, from birth to death”, says Fisher. But while the traditional, often spiritually based versions of bod mod are quickly disappearing among indigenous peoples, the impulses behind personal adornment remain unchanged: attracting a mate, signaling status, declaring allegiance to a group( Lemonick 75). For men, the tattoo is a public identity symbol, and their first is usually on their arm. Women reserve their tattoo for a more intimate audience, and they usually choose their breast. For most, the tattoo is symbolic of their individuality and having withstood a painful and exciting event. Tattooees enjoy being noticed, although they reveal their tattoos selectively ( Davis 471). Anthropologists describe body art or modification as a way of identifying oneself as being a part of a group, a tribe, or a gang: of denoting one’s financial status or marital status: or even as a way of beautifying the body (Grief, Hewitt 368).

We know of these tattooed tribes largely due to texts written by ancient Romans, who invaded the British Isles, and in them they described the tattoos on the Britons as making them all the more terrifying in battle.

While tribal tattooing has a history as far back as tattooing itself, these types of images have gained a huge increase in general popularity, beginning in the early 1990s. Traditional tribal tattooing was (and is) done for many reasons. Some of the most common reasons for tribal tattoos include rites of passage, social status, or even simple family identification. Some tribes also believe tattoos hold magical or spiritual significance. Of course, there are also instances where tribe members get tattooed simply for aesthetic reasons. Some of the most well-known variations of tribal tattoos come from tribes from Borneo, the Polynesian Islands, the Maori, Native Americans, and Celtic tribes. Tattoos of Chinese and Japanese characters have also become very commonplace among Westerners.

Spiritual Tattoo: A Cultural History of Tattooing, Piercing, Scarification, Branding, and Implants is a secondary source, based heavily off history than of the author’s opinion. John A. Rush, Ph.D., is Professor of Anthropology at Sierra College, Rocklin, California, teaching Physical Anthropology. His book starts at the very beginning of the ancient creation of art that evolved into tattooing and other body modifications. As social standards changed, patterns and rules were made as a sacred object of their religion or social patterns.

In different modern culture people often express themselves with tattoos. People express their beliefs and, in some cases, prove themselves, like fight to prove that they are worthy to be in that culture. Some cultural tattoos, like ones from Japan, can tell a story or indicate one’s social status. People have to prove to themselves and the other members of their culture that they belong. Cultural tattooing has many different meanings to many different cultures.

The Samoans are an ethnic group that reside in Oceania, on the islands of Samoa, in an area of Polynesia. Samoa has been occupied by these indigenous people for about 3000 years, when they came from the west, occupying the islands of Fiji and Tonga around the same time (Barnes and Hunt 2005, 243). They carry many traditions with their culture, however, I will be discussing their tradition of tattooing. Tattooing is the process of inserting ink pigment into someone’s skin to create a permanent design on them. For Samoans, tattoos are much more significant than just a pretty piece of artwork, they are, according to Ryman (2004), a right of passage. I will be reviewing the importance of cultural tattoos, the process of being tattooed, and the varying origin stories of how tattooing first came to Samoa. Samoan tattooing matters because it is a cultural tradition that has been practiced in Samoa for over 3000 years (Ellis 2006, 698).

2018 Indigenous Religions: Scarification Tattoos are the common American form of body art, a painful but a way for people to have a permanent expression among their body. As for indigenous religions, tattoo pain compares nothing to the common practice known as scarification. Some cultures intentionally inflicted wounds to the body in order to create permanent symbols of expression. These scars created serve as markers of rites of passage or milestones, identity, connection to ancestors or gods, social status, and sometimes beauty or strength specific to each tribe. Scarification is a difficult process but holds importance in many different indigenous religious tribes creating meaning with every impression left on the body.

Samoans have practised the art of tattooing both men and women for over 2,000 years. The geometric patterns are based on ancient designs, and often denote rank and status. Samoan oral tradition generally recognises that two Fijian women, Taema and Tilafaiga, introduced the practice of tattooing. Before the arrival of Christian missionaries, starting in 1830, all Samoan males got a traditional tattoo. In Samoa's cultural past most males were tattooed between the ages of 14-18 when it was determined they had stopped growing, so the designs would not stretch and suffer in beauty. Today, there has been a strong revival of traditional tattooing in the past generation, not only in Samoa but throughout Polynesia, often as a symbol of cultural identity.

Tattoos have been around throughout our history, from Egyptian times to the present day. Many people may say they know the history of tattoos, and where they originate from, but do they really? Does one know that there were reasons that some people had tattoos? There may be people who know the actual history of tattoos and body art and why one would decide to get one; however there are people who do not. To be able to understand the idea of tattoos, one should educate themselves to the history of tattoos. Although tattoos have been considered taboo and a stereotype, history reveals that this particular form of body art has been used for self expression, status and

Second Council of Nicaea banned all body markings as a pagan practice in A.D. 787 (Tattoos). The Maori people had hunted and decapitated each other for their moko tattoos. They used them for trade with Europeans. “Moko tattoos were facial designs worn to indicate lineage, social position, and status within the tribe” (Tattoos). Forensic pathologists mark burned, putrefied, or mutilated bodies.

When looking at Maori art, there is one thing that sticks out amongst everything else with me, and with most likely everyone that sees it for the first time, this is their tattooing skills. They are equipped with many other art skills such as their carvings, weaponry, and townhouses, but the tattoos represent the tribe as a whole and are visible on the people themselves.

Tattooing was also popular amongst Maori men of New Zealand, who covered their buttocks, thighs, and faces. Maori men had their faces tattooed by a “moko“ artist, a technique that is unique to the Maori. The pattern was slowly carved into the skin with a chisel, much in the same way a design might be carved into a plank wood. Ink was then be placed in the fresh wounds to create the tattoo. The process, which was extremely painful, was typically done in stages,

Samoans believe the circular flying represents the cycles of life.” (Channell,18). In Samoa these tattoos are given to the chief of the family and he is the one who is fully tattooed. The tattooing is a very painful process and is done by taking pieces of sharpen bone and ink and taping the tattoo in with a mallet. The tattoo designs are beautiful designs consisting of many geometric shapes put together in a way they flows. The tattoo is much respected. Once started, it must be completed or it will bring shame upon the young man, and his family. After it is completed, the young mans gains new status among his people. With the receiving of his tattoo, he has now taken on the responsibly of being a man, and also to be an example and leader of his family.