Overview
In the last decade or so, it’s safe to say that tattooing has ‘blown up’. It has become huge worldwide.
It has become so common that many people nowadays seemingly walk into tattoo studios having mulled over their ‘important’ decisions for only mere seconds prior to getting their new lifetime tattoo.
Others let their friends tattoo them with a machine that their parents bought them for Christmas – “Who cares what it’ll look like – it’ll be funny!”
However, there was a time when you couldn’t just stroll into a tattoo studio, or simply buy a tattoo machine from your favorite online store for under $30. Let’s take a look at some traditional tattooing methods around the world.
Traditional Tattooing Methods
Are you traveling soon? You can experience a traditional tattoo in Thailand with Where Sidewalks End. You can also experience a Homestay in Borneo with an Iban Tribe or a Love Potion Experience in the Philippines. Explore these traditional experiences.
Origins of Tattooing
Through time, different regions and cultures adopted individual methods of puncturing colorful inks into human skin for a variety of reasons – including religious beliefs, cultural identification, and sacrificial ceremonies.
As technical innovations developed, tattoo care procedures also evolved.
Various areas of the world presented different environmental dangers, making it essential to carefully care for tattoos after completion to prevent infections.
Before the advent of antibiotics, skin infections posed significant dangers, often leading to severe health complications if not promptly addressed.
Unique Tattooing Techniques Around the World
The following methods represent some of the most popular historical tattooing techniques that are still practiced by various cultures worldwide today.
1. Bamboo Tattoos
Widely considered the primary technique that initiated tattoo culture in Japan, bamboo tattooing is both fascinating to observe and incredibly complex to master.
The bamboo handle is crafted for comfort and accuracy, featuring up to two dozen sharpened points at the end, acting as tattooing needles.
Artists can adjust the sharpened points based on the required thickness or fineness of the lines.
To achieve the desired effect, the bamboo handle is ‘punted’ into the skin once ink has been applied to the sharp points, embedding the ink deeply enough for permanence.
This method can be quite painful if the artist does not ensure that the points are extremely sharp and precisely angled.
Mastering bamboo tattooing may take thousands of hours, with larger tattoos often requiring hundreds of hours to complete.
2. Rake & Striking Stick Technique
This is one of the oldest and most primitive known tattooing methods globally.
This technique has largely faded in most cultures but continues to thrive in some South Pacific territories, particularly in regions of Papua New Guinea and Samoa.
In this method, the artist stretches the customer’s skin while hitting a sharpened rake attached to a long horizontal handle using a thick solid stick, allowing the rake to imprint the ink into the skin.
Traditionally crafted from bone, this rake is dipped in ink before being positioned precisely over the skin to be tattooed.
3. Metal Tube Tattooing Technique
This method was prevalent in Southeast Asian countries and was particularly popular in ancient Thailand.
Contemporary Western tattooing techniques are believed to have originated from this method.
Artists utilize brass tubes that house a smaller, thinner metal rod which is then pressed into the skin after being dipped in ink. This process allows for clean and accurate tattooing.
4. Western Technique
Presently, the tattoo machine dominates the tattooing landscape.
In almost any commercial tattoo studio worldwide, clients receive tattoos through sharp, chemically sharpened needles connected to an electrified tattoo gun.
The electrically charged gun causes the needles to puncture the skin rapidly and accurately, enabling artists to create intricate designs.
Summary of Tattoo Methods
As evident, tattooing has evolved significantly from its ancient practices; however, traditional techniques possess an allure filled with romance and technical skill.
Papua New Guinea
After a year traveling through the jungles of Papua New Guinea, learning about the local culture and history, how would you commemorate this unforgettable experience?
With a ‘standard’ tattoo from a commercial studio once back home?
Or with a special tattoo created using an ancient technique by a true local artisan, right at the site of your memorable adventure?
Clearly, one option will hold much more significance years down the line.
