Body Art And Soul

“Though tribal tattoo design as an art form is waning amongst indigenous people, around the world, there is a growing awareness of body art.”

Zen And The Art Of Tribal Tattoo Design

The art of tribal tattoo design doesn’t just involve creativity but a passion for it. Both, artists of tribal tattoos and people who have it done are rather intense people and I find it really isn’t for the faint hearted. Tattooing is an almost cult art and the Zen thing about tattoo design is that it seems to give a person who is so inclined an almost Zen like state of satisfaction. It involves a lot of concentration and commitment. The art of decorating the body with a tribal tattoo design dates back to the early Ice Age. T

hough tribal tattoo design as an art form is waning amongst indigenous people, around the world, there is a growing awareness of body art. Each tribal tattoo design pack is unique and carries its own special meaning and is usually a religious symbol, talisman, charm or just an adornment. People seem to wear their tattoo designs almost like a badge of honor. Another interesting thing about tribal tattoo is that there is almost a stereotypical type of person who is into it. I cannot imagine the average office executive sporting a tribal tattoo! It takes a certain conviction (not that office executives lack conviction) and a motorcycle, rock music lifestyle and passion to court tribal tattoo design… and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

Discovering Tribal Tattoo Design

If you are a novice, like me and don’t quite know what tribal tattoo is all about, there are some extremely informative books dedicated to the art of tribal tattoo design. Most of the books I came across have great graphics and with a fair amount of text related to a particular tattoo design. In fact most of the good books on tribal tattooing are like a lesson in anthropology. My search for books on tribal tattoos led me to

Tribal Tattoo Design by Andy Sloss
Tribal Vol. III by J.D Crowe and Tattoo Art
Tattoo by Dale Durfee
Tribal Encyclopedia by Terisa Green

Maarten Hesselt Van Dinter’s book on Tribal tattoo design gives you a cross cultural history of tattooing, tattooing technology and commonly expressed motifs. The artwork in this tribal tattoo design book is extremely detailed and the text academic in nature.

Apart from books, getting online is a good way to learn more about tribal tattooing. I came across great pictures of tribal tattoos. Armband tribal tattoos, tribal owl tattoo designs, tribal samurai mask, circular tribal designs and low back tribal designs.

You don’t have to be a tribal tattoo fan; just discovering it as a work of art is extremely interesting and informative.

The Lawsonia Plant And Tribal Tattoo Design

Getting a tattoo is least painful when done on fleshy parts of the body. It is extremely painful on the bony parts that are just covered with skin. Either way, having a tattoo done on your body is not child’s play and a lot of thought has to go into it. If you are like me both wary and intrigued at the same time by tattooing, you could choose to have it temporarily done. Henna, which is from the Lawsonia Plant, can be used to draw a tribal tattoo on the body and this lasts for a few weeks which is perfect for the fainthearted! The real thing is done by stencils, flashes or by free hand, which apparently is more challenging and gives more unique results. Tribal tattoo is a whole different world one that is nonetheless exciting, creative and individualistic.

Sandhya Thukaram
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Sandhya Thukaram