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Tattoos hold rich historical and cultural significance as permanent markings on the body, conveying personal, social, and spiritual meanings. However, religious interpretations of tattooing vary widely, from acceptance and endorsement to strict prohibitions associating it with the desecration of the sacred body.
The tattoo only confers its powers so long as the bearer observes certain rules and taboos, such as abstaining from a certain type of food. [ 1 ] Sak yant designs are also applied to many other media, such as cloth or metal, and placed in one's house, place of worship, or vehicle as a means of protection [ citation needed ] from danger or ...
A serpent or dragon consuming its own tail, it is a symbol of infinity, unity, and the cycle of death and rebirth. Pentacle: Mesopotamia: An ancient symbol of a unicursal five-pointed star circumscribed by a circle with many meanings, including but not limited to, the five wounds of Christ and the five elements (earth, fire, water, air, and soul).
Painting by Gottfried Lindauer of a moko being carved into a man's face by a tohunga-tā-moko (tattooist) A collection of kōrere (feeding funnels). Historically the skin was carved by uhi [6] (chisels), rather than punctured as in common contemporary tattooing; this left the skin with grooves rather than a smooth surface.
Tattoos were symbols of tribal identity and kinship, as well as bravery, beauty, and social or wealth status. They were also believed to have magical or apotropaic abilities, and can also document personal or communal history. Their design and placement varied by ethnic group, affiliation, status, and gender.
The pagan and Christian symbols were mixed together indiscriminately, with the first originating from nature and family in Illyrian times, and the other with later adapted Christian meaning. [20] [19] The most common areas to tattoo were the arms and hands (including fingers), and on the chest and forehead.
The pentacle or pentagram has a long history as a symbol used in alchemy and western occultism; it was adopted as a symbol in Wicca in c. the 1960s. There was a campaign to recognize it as a symbol representing Wicca as a religion on US veteran headstones since the late 1990s, and the symbol was recognized for use on such headstones in 2007. [19]
Although tattoo art has existed at least since the first known tattooed person, Ötzi, lived around the year 3330 BCE, the way society perceives tattoos has varied immensely throughout history. In the 20th century, tattoo art throughout most of the world was associated with a limited selection of specific "rugged" lifestyles, notably sailors ...