The Art of Tattooing
Tattooing is a traditional art form spread over many cultures and societies. A tattoo is the marking of the skin with punctures into which pigment is rubbed. The word originates from the Tahitian tattau meaning to mark. Kings and commoners, sailors and prisoners, tribesmen and sweethearts all have shared one thing: the art of the tattoo. Evidence from ancient Egypt, Greenland, Siberia, and New Zealand shows how truly global the tattooer's art is and how old. In fact, tattooing had existed for thousands of years before England's Captain Cook encountered it in the South Pacific in 1769. Merchant and naval seamen soon spread the art to Europe and America. But while its meaning has varied from people to people and from place to place, tattooing has most often served as a sign of social status, as a mark of one's passage through life, or simply as a way to beautify the body (Underwood). Once regarded in the West as frightening and repulsive, the tattoo has enjoyed great popular!ity in our own culture in recent years. Everywhere we look today such as the movies, advertisements, and television are signs that people of all walks of life appreciate and practice the art of the tattoo. Tattooing is the oldest form of self-expressive a
The process of tattooing has not changed over time although it is now done electronically, but the actual process is virtually the same. A needle or sharp object, ink, and the puncturing of the skin with these two things are still necessary, however, due to the electronic process, it would be safe to say that the pain one has to undergo is substantially less compared to past times. There are still groups of people such as Polynesians for example who still use a painful method, but the pain is actually part of the process which one is required to undergo in order not to be looked down upon. rt, whose process has survived intact, yet its purpose has differed to a great degree, yet is still very popular today. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the years of the Roman Empire tattooing was almost wiped off the face of the earth in civilized cultures. Barbarians were the only ones that sported tattoos, and to wear a tattoo was an offence punishable by death. The Romans believed that the body was to remain in its purest form and tattoos had no place in this ideal. Roman soldiers encountered many tattooed barbarians in their conquests for Rome and needless to say the soldiers began bringing tattoos back into the mainstream. Christianity soon came along and with it the secrecy of an underground religion in a Roman state of intolerance. Christians began tattooing crosses on the underside of their forearms as a secret sign to other Christians. This was a bold statement of their faith, although secret, a Christian caught with a cross tattoo would be killed in short time. Christianization in 787 A.D. called a hal
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Approximate Word count = 1121
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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