The Tribal Tattoo Art

Tribal tattoos are generally influenced by tribal art from native and indigenous tribes. The tribal tattoo art comes from the older tribes such as the Celtics (Ireland, Scotland, & Wales), the Maori Tribe (indigenous people of New Zealand), the North American Tribal, the African Tribal, the Marquesan (Polynesian inhabitants of the Marquises Islands) and the tribes of Borneo

North American Tribal Art

There are many Indian tribes in North America and many different traditions for tribal tattooing. It was very common for tattoos to denote rank within the tribe. Take the Illinois Indians for example. It was quite common for weapons of war to be tattooed upon the men and it is suggested by some that the women received tattoos of tools used for labor. The tools of war outranked the tools of labor. This was, to the best of my knowledge, their tradition. They seemingly kept their practices to a minimum.

Samoa Tribal tattoo art 'Arm Tattoos'

The Samoan tribal tattoo was done with a carved boar tusk, sharpened with a piece of coral, attached to a turtle shell, and then affixed to a stick. This tool is used to carve the designs into the flesh by tapping it against the skin and then a mixture of candle nut soot and sugar water is rubbed into the resulting wound.

Marquesan Tribal tattoo art

Sea-faring Polynesians from Samoa colonized the Marquises Islands as early as 300 A.D. They were warring tribes who sometimes cannibalized their enemies. Marquesan art is very uncommon. Most tribal tattoos are done with one specific object and the size variation is minimal. This is not so with the Pacific.