Tribal Tattooing

Tribal Tattooing

Not all Native American or Indian tribes had specific tattooing. Also many groups that are not Indian or Native American tribes have tattooing in their group.

Groups now such as gangs, including prison gangs use tattooing as a means of identification with their specific group.

Certain clubs, use smaller tattoos as a means of identifying each other as a member of this exclusive club.

Some groups use marking other than tattooing to identify each other as members of the club. For example motorcycle clubs wear what they call colors. This is basically a leather vest with club emblems displayed on the back of vest, and other smaller emblems on the front of the vest that may show their status, in the club.

Street gangs as well as gangs in prisons will display numerous tattoos identifying themselves with their particular gang. Other gangs will recognize from the tattoos that the person with the tattoo does not belong to their gang.

Tribal tattooing is more to honor the group you are affiliated with, then to make it a dividing line, or a reason to war with other tribes.

Many people identify with the Harley Davidson motorcycle logo as a tattoo, or an emblem on their clothing. Young people get these tattoos before they realize the significance of the statement they’re making. While it may seem cool at age 15 to have a Harley tattoo on your forearm, it may not be so cool when you are 20 and trying to find a job.

We will get into tribal tattooing in other posts, and I will try to show examples of different tribal tattoos. For right now think about why you want a tattoo. If you want a tattoo to honor your heritage to a particular tribe or clan, you will need to research what exactly the tribe or clan identifies with.

Getting an eagle tattoo on your body to honor a clan or tribe that identifies with a wolf or bear, will not bring honor to you or the tribe. Quite the opposite will be the effect. Rather than accepting you as a member of the tribe, you may be shunned as an outsider, due to the eagle tattoo.

If you are a member of a particular tribe, talk with your relatives before deciding on a tattoo to honor your ancestors. Your elders will be more likely to know what would be an honor to your ancestors.

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Tags: Arts, Bodyart, Gang, Harley-Davidson, Motorcycle, Motorcycle club, Native Americans in the United States, Studios, Tattoo, United States