New
Delhi, Nov 20: A primitive cultural tradition that
flourished in the dust bowls of tribal India is now making a fashion statement
in the country’s upscale markets: The art of tattooing is witnessing a vigorous
revival as an artistic product with young people flaunting their tattoos as a
sign of masculinity, cultural pride, empowerment and even rebellion.
A distinctive mark of identity generally
associated with tribals and lower caste people, tattooing has emerged as a New
Age symbol of elitism and a lucrative marketable commodity, the just-concluded
23rd session of Indian Art History Congress (IAHC) at the National
Museum here was told.
“From a cultural tradition to a popular art
practice, tattoos are being commoditized as a fashionable product in India’s
market economy,” Ms Sarah Haq, a Research Scholar at Delhi School of Economics,
told the conclave while presenting a research paper.
While tattooing was seen as a tribal and
traditional practice of beautification, prevalent in the seasonal fairs or
‘melas’, it has now moved to the category of an elaborate and sophisticated art,
which is more nuanced and stylized. The practitioners identify themselves as
‘artists’ instead of ‘traditional tattoo craftsmen’ while tattooing has moved
from the state of a temporary, mobile craft in melas to the market and malls.
“In Delhi, tattooists using old methods can
be located on the corners of the street outside Hanuman temple and the Palika
market subway. However, the tattoo studio is fast emerging to uphold a monopoly
in providing access to artistic tattoos with minimum hazard. The parallel
presence of both a tattooist on the street and a tattooist in a studio is a
reflection of the nascence of tattooing as a market phenomenon in India that is
aided by its social acceptance as an urban and elite product,” the researcher
explained.
“Modern woman goes for tattooing to
accentuate her femininity and assert her sexuality while a young male finds it
as an expression of his masculinity, virility and the macho image,” said Ms
Sarah.
Explaining, she said tattooing is now
highly popular among the Jat and Punjabi youth, who can be found wearing the
image of Lord Shiva -- an amalgamation of masculine toughness and religious
symbol. Similarly, tattooing is popular among young tribal women who are
migrating to towns and cities carrying their traditional cultural baggage.
Tattooing for them signifies a nostalgic artifact and a symbol of their tribe’s
heritage.
The tradition of tattooing has been
prevalent among the Bhils and Santhals in central India, the Kanbis and Warlis
in Gujarat, the Banjaras of Rajasthan, and Gonds, Pardhans, Kolam and Korku in
Maharashtra. Moving southwards, the Malgasy-Nias-Dravidians of the Malabar
Coast have been documented to be using ‘medicinal tattoos’ as cures for
physical ailments like rheumatism
In the north-east, the Apatanis, Wanchos,
the Noctes and the Mijis of Arunachal Pradesh and the Zommi-Chinn tribes and the
Meithi clans of the Senapati Hills have an age-old tradition of tattooing. Each of the seven Meithi clans has
traditionally had its own tattoo symbol as the community’s mark of identity.
The tattoo images and motifs hold manifold
meanings for the communities involved. The young and old generations of Kanbi
and Warli women practice tattooing on the forehead and cheeks as a mark of
beautification as well as a totem. The characteristic tattoo symbol for them is
the peepal tree or acasia tree, which
is of religious significance. Men of these communities get tattooed the figure
of Hindu gods Hanuman, Krishna and the motif of ‘Om’.
Amongst the Santhals, tattooing is limited
to women, who wear several small
tattoo motifs on their wrists, forearm and chest. For the Santhal women, it is a
rite of passage heralding her puberty; and a non-tattooed woman is considered
unsuitable for marriage.
As a contrast, “the Apatani tribe used to
tattoo its womenfolk to make them unattractive to rival tribes in neighbouring
districts, who might otherwise abduct their prettiest women. The tattoos were
enforced on the young girls of the community at the age of 7-8 years,” Ms Sarah
said, adding: “A tattoo was thus a way to protect the identity of various
tribes, revealing an eerie intersection of primitive art and violence.”
Compared to traditional tattoos which
defined the social position of women in male-dominated social order,
contemporary tattoo art for young women in cities signify individualism, self-affirmation
and social mobility, she said.
“In the 1960s, Naxalite groups in Manipur
used stars as tattoo marks for their group’s identity, marking the
politicization of the art. Since the 80s, tattooing appears to have been
associated with the influence of rock and grunge music and increasing
availability of psychotropic substances in the region. Like the West, here too
tattooing had come to be considered as a deviant practice adopted by social
outcasts, substance abusers, insurgent groups,” she pointed out.
Compared to the earlier limited designs,
the modern tattoo market is flooded with elaborate catalogues of images and
texts as also of custom-designed tattoos -- tribal motifs, animal figures,
pin-up images, typographic tattoos that make a public statement about one’s
love affiliations, political and religious ideologies.
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