Tribal tattoos are generally abstract lines and shape designs, or they can echo the forms of plants or animals. Traditionally tribal tattoos tend to only use one color – black. The symbolism of tribal tattoos tends to revolve around concepts of power, strength, prowess and loyalty, hallmarks of the ideologies of the ancient cultures from whence they originated.
Each culture had it’s own reasons for it’s members getting tattooed. They included:
• to be looked after in the after life
• to connect with the Divine.
• as a talisman, a permanent amulet that cannot be lost.
• to enhance fertility
• to provide magical or medical protection.
• as a transition from boyhood to manhood
• to show status
• to tell stories of animals and the environment
• to commemorate the first kill
• to scare the enemy
All of these reasons were for a form of communication in one way or another when no written language existed.
It was tribes from Borneo considered getting tattoos as a physical and spiritual marker; they believed that the ink on their bodies would give them special advantage in the afterlife.
Samoan men had tattoos incorporated into the rituals that revolved around the transition from boyhood to manhood.
For the Philippine tribes, a tattoo marked your emergence as a warrior and your first killing of an enemy. The blood spilt as part of the process of being tattooed was considered good for attracting spirits to watch over and protect your village and community.
The Maori were unique amongst tribes for being the only tribe to tattoo and scarify their faces as positive status signals; they also used these tattoos for formidable appearance in battle.