Tattooing is a widely practiced method of body decoration in which markings such as signs, symbols and letters are applied to the body by puncturing the skin’s outer layer and inserting color into it. Whether ancient or modern techniques are used, the skin is punctured with a sharp instrument, now usually an electric moved needle. In earlier times and other cultures, Tattooing required one or more needles fixed to a stick and driven into the skin by slight tapping, the very process that has led to the term Tattoo via the early Polynesian sound – equivalent of the tapping action: Tau Tau. A variety of methods were used to create tattoos. In a classic example of tribal tattoo evolution, among the Sioux, for example, women would draw a circle or line on a person’s skin with clay, punch the design with an awl, and then rub the blue clay over it. By the time the clay was dry it would have penetrated beneath the awl holes. Among California natives, an old woman would scratch the skin of a subject and rub charcoal dust or plant juice into the scratches for color. Following the contact with Europeans, the Ojibwas drew on the skin with a stick dipped in gunpowder dissolved in water. The figure was then pricked with needle dipped in vermillion and the skin was seared with punk wood to prevent festering. The area would then be treated with an antiseptic herbal wash. These processes often took number of days.
Concerning all tribal tattoo styles, the division in black and white is important. Not only of what has been tattooed must have a good shape but also the parts that have been left Blanc must also be well shaped. Besides, it is more beautiful that the shapes follow your body contours. The balance with tribal and Ornamentals are very important. For this reason, it is important to have a tattoo done by someone who understands the different styles.
