The influences of primitive cultures in contemporary

tattoo and Body Art

-the tattoo as identity indicator-

Bikers, sailors, rock stars, office workers, prisoners, brokers, professors...

Almost every social class has members that choose to be the adepts of a cultural
phenomenon that has followed us since the birth of the first civilizations... TATTOO.
In the following lines we will summarize this cultural phenomenon (as well as
some others that derive from this) that became so strong in the present day and we
will also draw a parallel with its characteristics from the primitive period, focusing
on those that continued to influence todays tattoo. We will briefly speak about
tattoos role of identity marker as well.
Although in the field of tattoos there are numerous influences from the
primitive period, we have to understand that an enormous change tooked place in its
characteristic. If the tattoo was invested in the beginning with magical attributes, it
being entirely charged with sacrality and so not allowed for everybody, nowadays this
characteristic is totally lost, it becoming extremely popular. This desacralization of
the tattoo, about which we have to mention the fact that it started during the
Antiquity1, also entailed an unpleasant feature, the kitsch, about which we will not
talk though.
The tattoos continues to inspire, yet, in todays society fear, particularly
because some ideas, mostly religious ones, that arent so permissive and targets the
1

the desacralization of the tattoo happened because of the need to permanently mark the slaves in order
to be recognized if they would escape

perfection given by God, Allah, etc. to the human body, the modification of it being
considered as an intervention in the divine creation. The range of reactions raised by
this practice also goes through interest showed to the different techniques of body
modification, admiration, etc. Tattoos will always raise questions, either in the mind
of a friend or an enemy, conscious or unconscious, not regarding if the person that
judges is and educated and open one or one with a lower intelligence and more
obtuse in front of changes. These questions arent asked regarding the technique
involved in the process but rather the message that is being carried, the purpose of
it2
The word tattoo first come into the European continent in 1771 when the brave
sailor and explorer James Cook returned from his first journey in Tahiti and New
Zeeland. Aboard the ship of which he was the captain, HMS Endeavour, was also the
naturalist Joseph Banks to whom it belongs the first mention of the word in his diary.
The term has its roots in the geographical area that overlaps the Pacific Ocean, more
exactly the Polynesian archipelago, where it was found under different forms
amongst the different primitive populations founded there, amongst others being tatu,
tatau, tattaw, tattow or tattaow. We can in this way guess the characteristics that
derived from the primitive area and become influencing the contemporary tattoo.
But what does the tattoo stand for today and how is it done. By tattoo we
understand a complex technique of incision into the layers of skin until the derma,
followed by applying various pigments specially conceived for this purpose. The
complex technique is done with a tattooing machine that relies, largely, on the same
principle that was used before, namely the repeated incision with the aim of several
needles. The first electrical tattooing machine was invented in 1891 by Samuel Reilly
and became increasingly popular ever since, although, in many cases, like for
2

SCHIFFMACHER, Henk; RIEMSCHNEIDER, Burkhard, 1000 Tattoos, Kln, Taschen, 1996

example the prisoners or beginners, when such a precise

machine that uses needles that have a thickness of 0.33
mm it is replaced with other more rudimentary
mechanisms that uses nails, guitar strings, automatic
pencils, etc. The pigments used are synthetically ones and
are obtained from a multitude of chemical compounds as
iron oxides, titanium dioxide, acridine, etc., some visible
under normal light, other only under U.V. light.
When it comes to the reason of making a tattoo and its functionality we can
affirm the fact that besides its esthetical purpose it satisfies a series of other roles,
more or less important about which we will talk in the following lines.
We need to understand that the tattoo plays a very important role in
transmitting a nonverbal message, it having the extraordinary capacity of overcoming
the cultural-linguistic boundaries. In this case we have for instance the tattoo as a
carrier of personal optimistically beliefs about life, love for the wife or lover, mother,
patriotism, etc. In this way we have the example of
the most famous contemporary tattoo, the marking
on visible surfaces of the body of the name of the
wife, lover or mother, often associated with a heart
or some flowers. The patriotism (which sometimes
degenerates in some subcultures like skinheads
with their extremis nationalistic convictions) is
illustrated by tattoos like Made in and the name of the mother country.

Another type of messages transmitted with the help of tattoos is constituted by

happy or sad milestones from the life of the tattoo bearer. The wedding day, the day
of achieving a certain goal, the birthday of a son or daughter or other important places
and memories are reasons for this tattoos. Sailors for instance mark their first sail
near an important maritime checkpoint (Equator line, Cape of Good Hope or Cape
Horn being only a few of them) with a tattoo. Soldiers put into their tattoos
information about won battles, this practice being used by primitive societies also
where heroes were tattooed after each
wined battle. We can talk also about
memento mori3 and in memoriam4 tattoos
that are done to commemorate the death of
someone

loved.

Suggestive

images

reminding about death are often putted

together with the portraits of the deceased
ones in this kind of tattoos. Either if were
talking about

skulls, graves, blood or sometimes the place in which the loved one

died they are only a few of the elements of these tattoos. This kind of tattoos has its
roots in the primordial need to keep alive the memory of a loved one, believing that if
this thing is done the deceased one can continue its life after death. This belief gave
birth to an entire death cult that is the natural response of the human reason to the
unknown, the death.
Another type of messages transmitted this way is the protest against
authorities. The tattoo becomes this way the most extreme form of protest against the
leading class because it can not be removed any other way than by painful methods
like acid rinsing or removing the entire skin, or by killing the bearer. As illustrative
3
4

(lat.)remember you die

(lat.)in the memory

examples for this kind of message are the tattoos of the prisoners from the Russian
gulag5. The dissidents imprisoned there wrote, for example, on their bodies words
like I thank communists for my happy childhood and added, for increasing the
satirical character of the message, an image
of a child suffering of starvation. Other
tattoos

illustrated

the

rulers

of

the

communist state, Lenin and Stalin, as pigs in

various situations. Sometimes they were
represented

with

swastikas

or

being

crucified, at other times having sexual

intercourses with other pigs or even with
the devil, smoking from a pipe filled with opium, etc. another manifest materialized
in the art of body modifications is the famous tattoo with three dots made between the
opposable finger and the index, better known as mort aux vaches6, which is a
undermining message targeted towards the French police authorities, its members
being identified as cows. The police is very often the target of such protesting tattoos
in most of the cultures.
The tattoo as indicator of group or life style appurtenance is probably the most
often one today. We have in this way the so-called American gangs7 or the infamous
motorcyclist bands as Hells Angels, which have their own distinctive signs tattooed
on the skin of their members. Those tattoos are as important today as they were for
the members of the kakean society for example, a society of head hunters from the
Indonesian archipelago, for which the appurtenance tattoo was vital in order to not be
mistaken with an outsider and be killed. The same thing happens in the case of the
tattoos of the gang members, they also being extremely violent. Also todays
5
6
7

Soviet labour camps

(fr.) Death to the cows
groups with a strong territory instinct, organized around a neighbourhood

consumerist society ended up reflecting its influences even in this field with tattoos
that illustrates different logos, usually being preferred
those of famous brands such as tobacco, alcoholic
drinks or clothes. The profession is in many cases
another influence factor in determining the model of the
tattoo, the objects or episodes that are most
characteristic being chosen to be illustrated. Another
strong field of influence is made up by the music field,
the fans of music stars taking their obsessions so far
that they choose to tattoo the name of the band or their sign.
Another purpose of the tattoo is the intimidation. The tattoo that is done to
serve this reason misleads the enemys focus in the middle of a street fight, thus
offering the chance to strike back. This role was present also amongst the primitive
populations, they often choosing to tattoo their skin in such manner that it would
induce the illusion of a bigger physic. The warriors sometimes resorted to an entire
arsenal of monstrous images to serve this purpose, like for instance another pair of
eyes over the real ones. Today violent messages are used in order to stir fear and to
make the opponents conscious of the physical superiority of the bearer. Words like
death before dishonour or born to fight are building up this category of tattoos
and as representative images that have the power
to impress the enemies are those filled with power
such as skulls, daggers, black panthers, etc.
Japanese gangsters, the so-called yakuza are
covering their entire body for helping them in the
illegal card games, hanafuda. The skinheads about which we have already talked are
marking the signs of radicalism groups that are known for the strong racism that
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characterizes them. Nazi swastikas are some of the symbols that offer a hint about
the violent character of such persons
The sexual tattoo, filled with erotic meaning, can let to be known the sexual
orientation of the bearer or can be done as a sexual ornament that indicates the
virility of the one that is tattooed with it. The most often symbol used is the famous
sign of the band Rolling Stones which illustrates some lips with a hang out tongue.
Messages such as kiss this, placed on the buttocks or in the pubic area, represents an
explicit call for sexual intercourse. This is found out on the bodies of sadomasochists, perverts, gays, lesbians, etc.
The protective tattoo is one that lost the importance that it used to have but
which continues to exist even today. The reason why this kind of tattoos lost its
importance is the technological progress seen all over todays society, progress that
makes our world safer. Despite this it continues to exist even today under various
other forms, its role not being the protection against diseases, for instance, anymore,
how the majority of them used to be but for protection against some dangers that can
not be controlled by science, hazards. In order to illustrate this we have the example
of sailors that have tattoos that protects them against death by drowning. They are
tattooing on a leg the image of a rooster and on the other the one of a pig. This kind
of tattoos that protects the bearer against the dangers raised by the sea were also seen
amongst the old populations, Maoris for instance chose the image of a dolphin to
protect themselves against sharks. The often snake or dog bites are another reason for
making this type of tattoos.

Protection against todays biggest danger, guns,

constitutes the strongest reason for making a protective tattoo. We see this kind on
soldiers, police man, gangsters, generally on those that have to deal with guns on a
regular basis. This kind of tattoos originates in the protective tattoos used once by the
warriors in battles to be protected against enemy weapons.
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There is a type of tattoos that has an extremely pragmatic reason, them serving
for finding out someones identity if mutilated, in time of war for instance or for
marking the medical history or blood type. Lets remember about the Maori tattoos
that consisted of numerous curved lines scattered on the face, representing the
genealogical line or in other words the identity of the person. We can say about the
above mentioned tattoos that have their origins
precisely from these genealogical tattoos. The
identity becomes this way integrated in the
physiognomy of the person through imagistic
means. Today we have the example of
American soldiers that are tattooing on their
under arm region their blood type or the SS
soldiers on their forearm.
The last but not least of the influences of primitive culture in the field of tattoos
about which we want to remind is the famous tribal tattoos. We can not speak though
about any other kind of functionality besides the purely aesthetic one or, although no
so often, to mark a travel in an exotic region. This kind of tattoo is today totally
destitute of any kind of hidden symbolism like it was when every line, point or spot
had its own hermetic meaning. The only aspect kept from this kind of tattoos is the
reach palette of signs and patterns.
Now we will begin to talk about another field that interests us regarding our
discussion about primitive influences in body changing. We are talking about a
relatively new founded movement which nevertheless presents some archaic aspects,
Body Art.
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Although the tattoo is included in the field, Body Art doesnt limit itself only to
this. Body Art is a category of body changing techniques taken to the extreme and
which intends changing the publics perception over the human body by desacralizing
or on the contrary, by sacralising the human body. Among the techniques involved in
this cultural phenomenon we reckon subdermal implant or transdermal 8 one, skin
perforation, piercings, tongue splitting, modifying the shape of the body by
encorseting or other mutilating methods.
Defining for this movement is the pain and radical changing. In the primitive
societies where to achieve a spiritual goal, usually communication with gods, a
physical sacrifice is needed. Exactly this is aimed during different Body Art
performances, giving up the consciousness by submitting the body to pain by extreme
body modifications until falling into unconsciousness.
Lets begin the series of presentations by displaying those who chooses to
radically change their bodies so that they resemble animals. The concerned
modifications remind us to a great extent about the primitive
cult of animism, of The Animal Spirit. We have the
examples of Denis Avner, cat man, Erik Sprague, lizard man
and Jocelyn Wildenstein, cat woman. We need to understand
the fact that these people subdue themselves to this kind of
modifications not only because they want to resemble them
but also because theyre actually identifying themselves with
them, exactly like the shamans illustrated in caves like
Lascaux or Altamira. Those shamans embodied on the divine level into animals
during the ecstatic processes they subdued.

which penetrates the derma, coming out to the surface

Another primitive cult that still makes its presence felt by its influences in
Body Art is the death cult. Body Art, as we already mentioned wants that through its
performances to emphasize the human
bodys ephemeral character. We have
as an example Rick Genest, the zombie
man that chosed to tattoo his entire
body

so

that

it

resembles

decomposed human body. Noticing

that he illustrated a skull on his face we can not forget about the importance showed
by the primitive societies to the skull and skeleton which were considered the shrines
of the soul. We also need to remind about Orlans for whom the change of aspect is on
a regular basis. For example she tooked some pictures with women that personified
the canon of beauty in different periods and submitted herself to surgical operations
so that she will resemble them. In the moment in which the procedures were done she
choses another canon and started the whole process from the beginning.
We would like to briefly remind about a technique thats used also by Body
Art. We are talking here about attaching metal
rings around the neck. We can not overlook the
women from the Chiang Rai region in Thailand
whose most well known tradition, preserved
from ancient times, is exactly this practice, the
attaching of metal rings.
Maybe the most known representative of Body Art whos influenced by
primitive cultures is Fakir Musafar. He is considered to be the father of modern
primitive movement, which is formed by people that are submitting themselves to
extreme and painful body modifications which resembles some techniques implied by
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passing rituals. The artist executed during his 1966

performance a so-called O-Kee-Pa suspension, technique that
is found amongst the Mandan American Indian tribes on the
banks of the river Missouri. These practices, similar to those
involved in the Sun Dances from other tribes, targeted the
achieving of a state of unconsciousness which was liken to be
assimilated to a trance, ecstasy, contact with the spiritual world,
such moments being an occasion for a journey into the upper,
sacre world. Being done as part of crossing rituals, the pain was
the sacrifice that every neophyte had to make in order to access
specific powers and atemporal universes. Musafar accesses
those shamanic realities, him being closer than anybody else who practices Body Art.
As a conclusion we would like to affirm the fact that Body Art is one of the
most important art from the point of view of conceptual connection with the primitive
cultures. This art calls in different body modification and pain induction techniques
that are similar to those used by primitive cultures

Bibliography
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SCHIFFMACHER, Henk; RIEMSCHNEIDER, Burkhard, 1000 Tattoos, Kln, Editura Taschen, 1996
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_art

23.05.2013

19:37

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_modification

23.05.2013

19:45

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fakir_Musafar

23.05.2013

19:58

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_primitive

23.05.2013

20:16

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_(body_modification)#Chest

23.05.2013

20:25

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlan

23.05.2013

20:33

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