Tattooing is an art that has been practiced
on human bodies for thousands of years.
Cultures all around the world have
their own significance of each design,
and while traditional techniques are still used today,
newer ones are on the rise.
Here's a look at what tattoos look like around the world.
Egyptian tattoo culture is one of the oldest in the world,
dating back over 5,000 years.
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics included
pictures and symbols that we still see
inked on bodies today.
Some popular designs include
the Eye of Horus, a symbol of protection;
an ankh, which represents life;
and Egyptian gods like Anubis, the god of the dead.
This tattoo style is only temporary.
Henna, which is also known as mehndi in Hindi,
involves intricate designs that stain the body
for one to three weeks.
The paste used is plant-based,
made from a shrub called Lawsonia inermis,
otherwise known as the henna plant.
It is applied to the body
and left untouched for a few hours,
until it becomes hard or cracked.
When it is washed off,
the design is revealed in an orange-brown color.
It's not clear where henna tattooing originated,
but traditions date back to Cleopatra in ancient Egypt.
According to Carine Fabius,
author of "Mehndi: The Art of Henna Body Painting,"
the people of India began to practice
using henna as a way to keep cool in the Indian desert.
It has also been used for thousands of years
for celebrations such as weddings and religious holidays.
Designs in India are usually done on the hands and feet
and filled with paisley, floral, and lacy patterns.
Sak yant is a form of art in Thailand and Cambodia
that has been practiced for thousands of years.
Not only are the spiritual designs one of a kind,
but so is the technique used to ink the skin.
Traditionally, the tattoos are tapped into the skin
with a bamboo stick by Buddhist monks and masters of magic.
Sak yants are made up of symbols
and sacred scriptures woven into geometric designs.
Each design offers different powers and effects.
Historically, they were considered to be magical
and protect warriors from harm during battle.
Along with each tattoo is a set of rules
that have to be followed after getting inked,
or else the sak yant will lose all its power.
The power can be restored if you revisit a monk.
Nowadays, the same technique can be done
for more modern designs.
The New York Times reported that tattooing in
the Philippines was already popular by the early 1500s,
when the Spanish first arrived on the land.
The term used for the traditional tattoo is called batok.
Batok served as a symbol of bravery for tribe warriors
and beauty along with status for women.
The last traditional mambabatok, or tattoo artist,
of the Kalinga province is still alive
and inking bodies today in the village of Buscalan.
Estimated to be around 102 years old,
Whang-Od is an artist of the Butbut tribe.
She's so legendary that people from all around the world
hike to the remote mountaintop region
to get her work engraved on their bodies.
She uses a pomelo thorn and bamboo stick
to tap ink onto the body.
A soot burned from the pine wood is used for the ink.
Traditional Japanese tattoos are called irezumi.
These tattoos can be traced back to around 10,000 BC.
They're created by hand using the tebori method,
in which a wooden or metal stick
with needle tips insert ink into the skin.
The Japanese government banned tattoos in 1872,
but tattoo marks were still used
as a form of punishment on criminals.
The ban was lifted in 1948,
but irezumi was still frowned upon.
The tattoo style was associated with the yakuza,
an organized crime group.
Some businesses still ban tattooed clientele.
Because of Western influence, modern tattoos
have gained popularity with younger generations in Japan.
Irezumi is still done traditionally,
but by special tattooists who train
many years under a master.
Horiyoshi III is a legendary 73-year-old artist in Japan.
Up until 30 years ago, he created irezumi designs by hand,
but he now uses an electric needle.
The word tattoo is said to have originated
from the Samoan word tatau.
The traditional male tatau is called pe'a,
which signifies manhood.
Designs include straight lines and chunky blocks
that cover the body from the waist to the knees.
It's a painful process and takes weeks to heal.
The technique uses handmade tools and tapping motions.
The tattooing skills are often passed down
from father to son as they become tufugas,
or tattoo artists.
Ta moko tattoos were once represented
by the indigenous Maori tribes of New Zealand.
These tattoos were different in that
they didn't use needles.
Instead of puncturing, designs were carved into the skin
using knives and chisels made from shark teeth,
sharp stones, or shark bones.
Maori people considered the head
to be the most sacred part of the body,
and so the face was the most popular for ta mokos.
Other body parts, such as the back and legs, were also used.
Women often got their arms, necks, and thighs inked.
People of higher social statuses usually had ta mokos.
Non-Maori people can get ta moko-inspired tattoos today,
but they're called kirituhi.
Aztec designs represents one of
the ancient civilizations of Mexico.
The symbols are often associated with
the tribe's sun gods, warriors, and calendar.
A popular design, the Aztec sun stone, or calendar stone,
portrays the five consecutive worlds
of the sun from Aztec mythology.
Today, Aztec designs are used as tattoos
to show pride in the culture.
Tattoos don't always have to be traditional.
Rit Kit, an artist in Ukraine,
uses real plants as stencils for tattoos.
She created the technique for "live leaf tattoos"
so that designs could be closer to nature.
She dips a chosen leaf or flower into ink,
places it on her client's body,
and then peels it off to trace it over with a tattoo gun.
The end results are different every time.
Which of these tattoos do you have, and which would you get?
Let us know in the comments below.