Vickipedia

TATTOO’ING, a custom extensively prevalent among savage nations, of marking the skin with figures of various kinds, by means of slight incisions or punctures and a coloring matter. The term is of Polynesian origin, and is said to be derived from a verb ta, which signifies to strike. Tattooing is almost universal in the South Sea Islands, except where Christianity and civilization have put an end to it. New Zealanders’ heads, exhibiting tattooing, are amongst the curiosities to be seen in museums; and at one time it was very common for the masters of vessels visiting New Zealand to purchase them and bring them home, although there is too much reason to believe that the price paid for them stimulated the feuds of the natives. The tattooing of the New Zealanders and other South Sea Islanders often covers the whole face, and sometimes also the chest, arms, and other parts of the body with elaborate patterns. It is performed in youth, and marks the transition from boyhood to manhood, like the assumption of the toga virilis among the ancient Romans. The operation is accompanied with superstitious ceremonies, and is attended with considerable pain, which, of course, is to be endured with manly indifference. An instrument of bone, toothed on the edge, is employed, which is applied to the skin, and stuck with a piece of wood, having first been dipped in a thick mixture made by rubbing down charcoal with a little water. The marks which result are permanent, and appear black on a brown skin; although they are dark blue on the skin of a European. Tattooing is, or has been, practised in almost all parts of the world. It seems to be one of the practises prohibited to the Jews, in Lev. xix. 28, ‘ Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you,’ from which may be inferred its prevalence among the surrounding tribes in the days of Moses, and its connection with their superstitions. The Bedouin Arabs, the Tunguses, and other eastern tribes, and many tribes of American Indians, practise it at the present day. Among the Bedouins, it is a favorite mode of female adornment. It prevailed among the ancient Thracians, and was distinctive of high rank. The ancient Britons also practised it, and traces of it appear to have lingered in England till after the Norman Conquest. Perhaps the practise of sailors to print anchors and other marks on their arms, may be regarded as a relic of it still subsisting.