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Face tattoo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portrait ofTāmati Wāka Nene,aMāorirangatira,byGottfried Lindauer(1890)

Aface tattooorfacial tattoois atattoolocated on the bearer's face or head. It is part of thetraditional tattoosof many ethnic groups.

In modern times, although it is considered taboo and socially unacceptable in many cultures,[1][2]as well as considered extreme in body art,[3]this style and placement of tattoo has emerged in certain subcultures. This is due to the continuing acceptance of tattoos[4][5]and the emergence of hip-hop culture popularizing styles such as theteardrop tattoo.

Traditions

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Face tattooing is traditionally practiced by many ethnic groups worldwide.

As indicator of status, maturity, or beauty

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Ainu

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An Ainu woman with a facial tattoo

TheAinu peopleof northernJapanand parts ofRussia,includingSakhalin,theKuril IslandsandKamchatka Krai,have a practice of facial tattooing exclusive to women, in which a smile is inked around the mouth to prevent spirits from entering the body through the mouth. This form of tattooing also serves a secondary purpose of showing maturity.

Atayal

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Two elderAtayalwomen with facial tattoos as a symbol of maturity

InTaiwan,facial tattoos of theAtayal peopleare calledptasan;they are used to demonstrate that an adult man can protect his homeland, and that an adult woman is qualified to weave cloth and perform housekeeping.[6]

Cordillerans

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Lakay Wanawan of theKalinga people(c. 1912), a renowned warrior[7]

Among the variousCordilleran(Igorot) peoples of the northernPhilippines,facial tattoos indicated that a warrior belonged to the highest rank.[8]

Among theKalinga people,pregnant women were also tattooed with small x-shaped marks on the forehead, cheeks, and the tip of the nose to protect them and the unborn child from the vengeful spirits of slain enemies.[9][10]

Inuit and Alaskan and Canadian Natives

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Inuit woman with facial tattoo

Facial tattoos were practiced amongInuit women,but this practice was suppressed by missionaries.Yidįįłtooare the traditional face tattoos of theHän Gwich’in,who are indigenous to Alaska and Canada.[11]KakiniitandTavlugunare other examples.[citation needed]

In the 21st century, there was a revival of traditional facial tattooing among IndigenousArcticwomen.[12][13]Quannah Chasinghorsewears Yidįįłtoo.[citation needed]

Māori

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Main article:Tā moko

Among theMāori people,men traditionally received tattoos on the entire face, while in women it was mostly restricted to the lips (kauwae) and chins. These tattoos were traditionally part of the initiation into adulthood and signified rank and status, as well as being considered beautiful.[14]

Medieval Europe

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Medieval pilgrims would frequently get tattoos whilst visiting the Holy Land, including the occasional face tattoo.[15][16][17]Crusaders may have got facial tattoos as permanent proof of their participation in the Crusades, although this is unknown.[18]

Middle East/North Africa

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Facial tattoos are widespread across various parts of the Middle East and parts of North Africa. In the Levant, facial tattoos are primarily adorned by the women of the Bedouin tribes living throughout Jordan to symbolize beauty and social status. In some instances tattoos are also used for their believed "magick" properties. Facial markings are also seen in Iraq among the Yezidi women. In North Africa, face tattoos can be found among the indigenous Berbers that populated the region before the arrival of Arab armies from the East. Egyptian women from different religious sub-sects of Islam and Christianity also sport face tattoos. In all cases, it is primarily the women that adorn facial markings and while men did have tattoos in some cases, they were primarily on the hands, arms, and feet. The tattoos throughout the Middle East and Africa share many similarities in the use and style of the geometric designs and glyphs that symbolize various animals, element signs, and physical attributes.

Visayans

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Main article:Batok
Visayantimawa(warrior-nobility) with facial tattoos in theBoxer Codex(c. 1590)

Among the heavily-tattooedVisayansof the central and southernPhilippines,face tattoos were known asbangutorlangi.They were often meant to resemble frightening masks, like crocodile jaws or raptorial beaks. These tattoos were reserved only for the most elite warriors (timawa), and possessing facial tattoos indicated high personal status.[19][20]

As deterrent from abduction

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Apatani

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Among theApatani peopleinArunachal PradeshinIndia,women used to tattoo lines on the chin, and from the forehead to the tip of the nose, as well as wear largenose plugs.The reason for this is unknown, but it is believed that the tattoos serve as a way to make women less beautiful and protect them from abductions. Men also had a T-shaped tattoo on the chin. These traditions were practiced up until around 1974.[21]

Chin people

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See also:Tattooing in Myanmar
Elderly woman with extensive geometric tattoo across her face
Chin woman with face tattoo

SouthernChin womenwere also tattooed on their faces with closely set lines using blue pigments, ostensibly to discourage them from beingkidnappedby invaders.[22]Chin women were typically tattooed between the ages of 15 and 20.[23]The practice has quickly disappeared, as it was banned in the 1960s by Burma's totalitarian regime and it was discouraged by Christian missionaries.[24][25]Mro womenalso wore tattoos in the form of small marks or stars on the cheek, forehead or breast.[26]

Derung

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TheDerung peopleof southwestern China practiced facial tattooing only for women. They receive these tattoos at around age 12. The practice is believed to make the women less attractive and thus less likely to be abducted.[27]

As punishment

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Ancient Rome

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In Ancient Rome, slaves who fled or attempted escape from their masters would frequently be branded on their foreheads or tattooed against their will. These tattoos portrayed the crimes committed and were a punishment because of the inability to cover up a tattoo on the forehead.[28]As the Roman world entered late antiquity, extreme Christian sects began to use former-slave forehead tattoos as religious symbols and signs of strength. Religious facial and head tattoos were not socially unacceptable within these circles[29]though in the greater Roman mainstream there was still an association between face tattoos and former slavery. In 315/316 CE, an edict outlawed facial tattoos and facial branding/tattooing for slaves.[30]

Vietnam

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In ancient Vietnam, face tattooing was considered as a form of punishment. In 1042, KingLy Thai Tongissued theHinh Thu,or Criminal Law, in which criminals were caned or tattooed 20 to 50 characters on their faces.[31]

Modern day

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Face tattoos have been considered socially unacceptable and "outrageous"[32]and generally will prohibit the tattooed person from finding employment[33][34][35][36][37]and result in discrimination.[38][39][40]Most tattoo artists will attempt to dissuade clients from getting a facial tattoo, and in some cases may outright refuse to do a facial tattoo. Artists may be more agreeable to doing facial tattoos for heavily tattooed clients.[41][42][43][44]

Due to how tattoos were used in the 20th century, they are often associated with criminality. Many gangs and criminal organizations mark members with tattoos, including visible areas such as the face, head, and neck.[45][46][47]Members may get facial tattoos as a form of intimidation.[48][49][50]This started in California in the 1980s before becoming widespread.[51]

A 2013 study published inPsychology, Public Policy, and Lawconcluded that face tattoos often lead to bias in the jury and more frequent convictions.[52]Many ex-convicts also have facial tattoos, due toprison tattooing,and the culture of prison tattoos includes the indoctrination of people within the prison populace into gangs, which often require tattoos to show aggression.[53][54]These tattoos includeteardrop tattoosindicating that the bearer has either taken a life or lost someone close to them; a five-point crown, a commonLatin Kingssymbol; and a number of different facial tattoos alluding to Nazism in theAryan Brotherhoodand Salvadorian culture in MS-13.[55][56]

In the mid 2000s, the trend of getting a facial tattoo emerged among celebrities, starting with boxerMike Tyson'slarge tribal tattooin 2003[57]and the ascension of rap music from the underground to the mainstream. This allowed artists with a criminal background and face tattoos to become well known, includingBirdman,Lil WayneandThe Game.[58]Lil Wayne's extensive tattooing of his face created a minor trend that he helped pioneer[59]inspiring rappers likeGucci Mane[60]and then-chart topperSoulja Boyto get facial tattoos.[61]

Hip-hop culture

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The influence of artists likeLil WayneandFredo Santanagetting face tattoos was not fully realized until the mid-2010s with the resurgence oftrap musicand the "SoundCloud rap"scene.[62]Artists such asGhostemane,[63]Travis Scott,[64]21 Savage[65]andMigos[66]all have facial tattoos and emerged between 2014 and 2016, soon entering the mainstream and theBillboardHot 100.Entrance of hip-hop culture into the mainstream[67][68][69]has led to face tattoos increasing in popularity. The insurgence of many trap artists in the 2010s increased the popularity of face tattoos.[70]RapperPost Maloneis a common example and influence of facial tattoos for the current generation.

Though discrimination remains in the fashion world for models who have facial tattoos, generally models with face tattoos of the brand they're modeling for, such as having aChanellogo under your eye, is becoming acceptable.[71]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"'I lost a job because of my tattoos'".BBC News.2014-09-22.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  2. ^"Why Many Tattoo Artists Won't Ink Hands, Feet, or Faces".LiveAbout.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  3. ^Kurutz, Steven (4 August 2018)."Face Tattoos Go Mainstream".The New York Times.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  4. ^Prescott, Autumn."Tattoos should not be taboo in society".The Eclipse.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  5. ^"So why do 'normal' people get tattoos?".2007-10-09.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  6. ^"Văn mặt".Đài Loan nguyên trụ dân tộc lịch sử ngôn ngữ văn hóa đại từ điển.
  7. ^Worcester, Dean C. (September 1912)."Head-hunters of Northern Luzon".The National Geographic Magazine.23(9): 833–930.
  8. ^Krutak, Lars (23 November 2012)."Return of the Headhunters: The Philippine Tattoo Revival".LarsKrutak.Retrieved15 August2021.
  9. ^Calano, Mark Joseph (October 2012). "Archiving bodies: Kalinga batek and the im/possibility of an archive".Thesis Eleven.112(1): 98–112.doi:10.1177/0725513612450502.S2CID144088625.
  10. ^De Las Peñas, Ma. Louise Antonette N.; Salvador-Amores, Analyn (March 2019). "Enigmatic Geometric Tattoos of the Butbut of Kalinga, Philippines".The Mathematical Intelligencer.41(1): 31–38.doi:10.1007/s00283-018-09864-6.S2CID126269137.
  11. ^Frey, Kaitlyn (14 December 2021)."Quannah Chasinghorse Didn't Want to Discuss Her Face Tattoo Because People 'Wouldn't Have Accepted'".People.Retrieved2022-07-29.
  12. ^Hughes, Zachariah; Media, Alaska Public (2015-09-18)."More than ink: Traditional tattoos roar back in Alaska".Alaska Public Media.Retrieved2019-10-29.
  13. ^Allford, Jennifer (2019-10-23)."Reclaiming Inuit culture, one tattoo at a time".Retrieved2020-01-14.
  14. ^Pritchard, Stephen (2000-12-01)."Essence, Identity, Signature: Tattoos and Cultural Property".Social Semiotics.10(3): 331–346.doi:10.1080/10350330050136389.ISSN1035-0330.S2CID12023136.
  15. ^"Inside the World's Only Surviving Tattoo Shop For Medieval Pilgrims".Atlas Obscura.2016-08-18.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  16. ^Lewy, Mordechay."Jerusalem under the skin - pilgrim tattoos promoted by the Franciscans in the Holy Land.ppt".{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  17. ^Kristensen, Troels Myrup (2012)."Textiles, Tattoos and the Representation of Pilgrimage in the Roman and Early Christian Periods (2012)".HEROM 1: The Material Culture of Roman and Early Christian Pilgrimage, Pp. 107-134.1:107–134.
  18. ^"Center for Tattoo History and Culture".Center for Tattoo History and Culture.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  19. ^Scott, William Henry (1994).Barangay: Sixteenth-century Philippine Culture and Society.Ateneo University Press. pp. 20–27.ISBN9789715501354.
  20. ^Salvador-Amores, Analyn. Burik: Tattoos of the Ibaloy Mummies of Benguet, North Luzon, Philippines. InAncient Ink: The Archaeology of Tattooing,edited by Lars Krutak and Aaron Deter-Wolf, pp. 37–55. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.
  21. ^Chanda, Aishik (1 October 2017)."Arunachal's Apatani tribe won't get inked: Dropping traditions in fear of discrimination".The New Indian Express.Retrieved14 August2021.
  22. ^White, Herbert Thirkell (2011).Burma.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781107600676.
  23. ^Myo Myo."A symbol of Chin identity fades away".Myanmar Times.Archived fromthe originalon 14 February 2013.Retrieved27 September2013.
  24. ^"Tattooed Chin women lure tourists to remote region".Myanmar Times.25 April 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 8 October 2013.Retrieved27 September2013.
  25. ^Nyein Ei Ei Htwe (17 November 2013)."Chin tattoos: a fading tradition".Myanmar Times.Retrieved1 July2015.
  26. ^Gait, Edward Albert (1902).Census of India, 1901.Vol. 12. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing.
  27. ^"The Derung People: the Face Tattooed Tribal Women of China".China-Underground.22 September 2016.Retrieved14 August2021.
  28. ^Jones, C. P. (1987). "Stigma: Tattooing and Branding in Graeco-Roman Antiquity".The Journal of Roman Studies.77:139–155.doi:10.2307/300578.JSTOR300578.S2CID162719864.
  29. ^Bond, Sarah."Tattoo Taboo? Exploring The History Of Religious Ink And Facial Tattoos".Forbes.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  30. ^"IMPERATORIS THEODOSII CODEX liber nonus".ancientrome.ru.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  31. ^Donald G, Mccloud (2018).Southeast Asia: Tradition And Modernity In The Contemporary World, Second Edition.Routledge.ISBN9780813318967.
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  38. ^Kelly, Jon (2014-08-18)."Should anti-tattoo discrimination be illegal?".BBC News.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  39. ^"You want a good job – but you also want a facial tattoo. What should you do?".the Guardian.2018-06-10.Retrieved2018-10-23.
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  41. ^"Tattoos That Tattoo Artists Refuse To Do".2018-04-06.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  42. ^Codrea-Rado, Anna (2015-08-09)."Are tattoo artists right to refuse to adorn necks and hands?".the Guardian.Retrieved2018-10-23.
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  44. ^"Tattoos many tattoo artists hate to do".TheList.12 March 2017.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  45. ^"A statistical analysis of the art on convicts' bodies".The Economist.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  46. ^WRAL."Blink and you won't miss it: Face tattoos go mainstream:: WRAL".WRAL.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  47. ^"Hip-Hop Ink: Gang Tattoos Explained".HotNewHipHop.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  48. ^Nelson, Patrick (2017-11-30)."Face tattoos a trend for Valley crime suspects".YOURCENTRALVALLEY.Retrieved2018-10-23.
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  50. ^Dajani, Daniel D. (May 12, 2017)."Tattoos and Criminal Behavior: An examination of the relationship between body art and crime".City University of New York (CUNY).Archivedfrom the original on 2023-02-22.
  51. ^"Where All the Madness Began: A Look at Gang History".web.stanford.edu.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  52. ^Funk, Friederike; Todorov, Alexander (2013). "Criminal stereotypes in the courtroom: Facial tattoos affect guilt and punishment differently".Psychology, Public Policy, and Law.19(4): 466–478.doi:10.1037/a0034736.ISSN1939-1528.
  53. ^"15 common prison tattoos and what they mean".Business Insider.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  54. ^"Another inmate with a tattooed face escapes".The Mercury News.2017-11-28.Retrieved2018-10-23.
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  56. ^"Hate on Display™ Hate Symbols Database".Anti-Defamation League.Retrieved2018-10-23.
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  59. ^Tijerina, Daniela (2018-07-31)."Face-Tat Fever".Rolling Stone.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  60. ^Perpetua, Matthew (2011-01-13)."What Does Gucci Mane's Ice Cream Cone Tattoo Mean?".Rolling Stone.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  61. ^"Soulja Boy Says Goodbye To The Gucci Logo Tattoo On His Forehead".Vibe.2015-12-28.Retrieved2018-10-23.
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  63. ^"Lil Uzi Vert Got His First Face Tattoo So He'd Have To Focus On Music".HotNewHipHop.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  64. ^"Travis Scott Shows Off New Face Tattoo - XXL".XXL Mag.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  65. ^"The Brutal Story Behind 21 Savage's Dagger Face Tattoo".DJBooth.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  66. ^"HipHopDX's Handy Guide For Telling The Migos Apart".HipHopDX.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  67. ^"Hip-Hop: From the Streets to the Mainstream - IIP Publications".IIP Publications.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  68. ^Petridis, Alexis (2003-10-08)."Feature: Hip-hop has taken over mainstream pop culture".the Guardian.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  69. ^"How Rap Became the Sound of the Mainstream".Time.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  70. ^"The future has a face tattoo".The Outline.Retrieved2018-10-23.
  71. ^"face tattoos in fashion: a controversial history".I-d.2016-09-30.Retrieved2018-10-23.
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