Revival of Naga Tattoos

Session 72 summary

What is a tattoo? How would you define a tattoo and its significance in different societies?
Mo says that if tried to put it simply and technically, it is the marking on one’s body- skin, a permanent marking by putting pigments inside the skin. But when trying to understand from the perspective of why people get tattoo and what significance does it holds whether it is an ancient practice or the modern contemporary tattoo, they all in a way does the same thing which is expression. Back in the day it was the expression of the community but now it is becoming more of an individualistic expression. Back in the day they believed in the marking on their body through tattoos as markings not only for this life but a marking through which they will be recognized by their loved ones when the go onto the next life. So, the marking that they do is not just for this life but also for the next life. But in this modern time it is for now, the expression for this instance, personal expression, that’s how it is looked at. But overall the concept remains the same, everybody wants to express their aesthetics certain qualities, philosophies that they have, something that talks about the person that they are, it was the same back in the days but it was through community.

What is the difference between traditional tattoos in the communities and modern subcultures?
In traditional tattooing, back in the days, one hardly got to choose because it is a tradition. The designs have most probably evolved and when explored it is found that there are certain patterns for certain tribes and which they continued to do for hundreds of years. For example one of the common pattern in India is marking the stages of life, so when someone is born in the community the child is (as a young child) marked- the mark of belonging to the community, as the person grows and enters puberty then they get a tattoo, when they reach adulthood, when they get engaged, when they get married, when they give birth, etc. like this stages of life are marked. These markings are certain marking designs for certain tribes different from the markings of other tribes. The value, the essence and why it is done may be the same but the design differs. Since the tattoos tell everything about a person it is a language- something that everyone understands so people don’t get to choose what kind of designs they want but it is something that they earn. But in modern times it is a little bit different with the contemporary tattooing but it is still markings of the stages of their growth so in that way the essence remains the same. Sometimes when young ones gets a tattoo and when they grow up they think it is stupid as they cannot relate to it anymore but that tattoo still reminds them of that stage of life what they have gone through. So, tattoos become automatically markers of time and the stages of individual’s growth.

Do you see tattooing just as a fashion art or does it help you revisit the past? What is the object of reviving tribal tattoo?
Mo doesn’t look at fashion because he feels that it is a lie. It is something to force, to manipulate something that he is trying to save. But living in this contemporary world, one has to navigate through it and definitely it has to be in trend- it has to be fashionable. But when talking about tribal tattoo and tribal art in India in its true essence, there is no need for trends and fashion, in fact there is no space for it, because their art and expression is permanent, it comes from the nature and there is no ugly and there is no beauty in their expression. They are people who express from what is around them. They are not affected from what is happening somewhere in other parts of the world. It is a lot more than fashion, design, art- it goes back to the time when man did not have any clothes. Their expressions are unique and the standard of beauty and design will have to accommodate to it.

What is the method of tattooing? What are the tools used, the traditional forms and modern forms?
In traditional tattoos, for Nagas, they use all natural things for tattoo, like; thorns as needle, making the pigments from the plants, use plant fibre to tie the needle, use leaves to wipe the blood, etc. so, everything that they use obviously comes from the nature. But when talking about India as a whole, the knowledge that people have of now is of using metal needles, but when one goes back in time, there would be a time when they might have also used thorns. So, for the Nagas everything is from the nature, no metal but in the modern tattooing there are metal and fine needles, very sophisticated machines, sterilised inks produced for human skin, a lot of safety measures. It is really very different now, it is very advanced and safe.

What does tattooing mean to Naga communities?
Tattoo is just like any other cultural expression, like; through textiles, through accessories, paintings on the wall, and anything one does i.e. through their creativity. Similarly tattoo for Nagas is a mark of identity, it speaks about the person, their quality, their achievements, it also speaks about their spiritual belief their deep connection with nature and animal kingdom beyond the visible and physical aspect of it to the spiritual context. If one tries to understand it deeper it leads to many more findings of relations between tribes and communities between ‘mos’ and ‘nagas’, beyond nagas and beyond India to faraway places. So, tattoo is a very powerful expression of Mo’s ancestors, unfortunately it is not viewed as that way anymore. If not more, it is still as important as any other expression of his people and most probably it is the oldest expression on their body, experts say that it (tattoo) is the oldest surviving art form of humans.

What is the iconography of traditional Naga tattoos?
This symbols and patterns all come from the nature- the birds that are around, the animal that influences them, the trees, etc. all the imagination comes from all this things. So, their icons all come from nature and it is a stylised way of expression. Sometimes because of the medium itself the icon has to be stylised in a way how the tools let them and because of that their expressions and designs become stylised. The style is mostly geometric in nature, very repetitive and symmetric, very bold and strong just like any other tribal expression. They are created to be bold and visible to leave an impression.

Do these symbols also represent relationships and kinships apart from gender age and social status?
Yes, the connection and their expression as an individual or as a tribe is not just the expression of the human themselves, it is beyond that. The expression involves all the living being that is around them- all these things make up their identity. So, their connection is beyond that what the contemporary mind can comprehend so it definitely talks about their connection, their kinship.

Is tattooing a ritualistic practise or just a process of adornment in the naga community?
When it becomes deeper than visual and physical, it is appropriate to be used ritualistic but it is not ritualistic in the way they want to perceive e.g. sacrificing animals etc. but it is a ritual when it is done with such seriousness. When talking about life, the one that is ahead and the one that is in the past, the markings on the body which go beyond physical and visual then it is definitely ritualistic. Mo states that he is not sure ritualistic in which sense but it is definitely more than adornment (might be an aspect of it but it is more than that). It is something in which they have a lot of pride not just the person who is getting it, the family gets involved and even the community gets involved.

What is the difference between the Naga style tattoo and other tattoos?
The Maorian, Philippian, Hawaiian and Naga tattoo are quite similar but when looked at the Gond, Santhali, Rabari and Dongria tattoos, there is a difference. When compared to different tattoo cultures in India, then Naga tattoo is different because in the past they used to practise headhunting and so the purpose of their tattooing is a little bit different from the purpose of tattooing from other tribes. For them the way they live, the way they do things, how society functions etc. a lot of it was dictated by their practise of headhunting. But it was not the headhunting which forced them or taught them to live like that but it was because if they want to live in peace they had to fight and protect (as they live in the hilltop away from the rest of the civilization). Where they live defined how they lived and so the way they tattoo also becomes a little bit different. But when talking about visual difference then the Naga tattoo is very geometric in nature, maybe because of the tools that they use which is very different. They use the tapping method; the thorn is tied to one stick and the other stick beats on it and the method is called hand tapping. In other parts of the country the tribes use the method of hand poking and because of the way it is done the art also changes.

How is hand-tapping tattoo different from hand-poking tattoo?
In hand-tapping there are two sticks, one has the thorn attached and the other one is used for beating/hammering or tapping the stick, so it is called hand-tapping. In this technique, especially for the nagas, there are minimum three people required for the process whereas in the hand-poking method there are only two people present- the person poking and the person receiving the tattoo. But in the process of Naga tattooing sometimes there are four or five people depending on which part of the body is being tattooed. (For the hand-poke method there are a set of needles that are tied together in a circle (grouping) and then poked with hands.)

What are some of the interesting discoveries that you have made amongst the Naga communities during the course of your interaction, research and fieldwork while exploring tattoos?
Mo states that, one of the most powerful finding is that all of this markings come from the nature; all of the knowledge, all of the wisdom comes from the immediate nature surrounding, which is very powerful. And to know and learn about how they do it, where it comes from and what it means for them – it becomes more and more powerful. For Mo, coming across elders who have lived lives of ancient way, who are 100+ year old men and women, telling him in person the things that they saw, things that they did and how things have become was very powerful because of talking about nature. Since everything is coming from the nature, they are able to connect it with the rest of the world because the whole world and all the indigenous communities, just like the nagas, have their inspiration, their knowledge, their wisdom, their practices, etc. everything from where they are thriving. So, through tattoos Mo is also able to learn a lot about the surroundings, the plants, the animals, the river, the sun, the moon- a very different perspective of how to look at and how to learn from them. That is something very powerful for Mo and that is the most important thing that he had discovered.