Tribal Tatoo

One type of Tribal Tatoo that has long been honored is the art form derived from the island of Borneo. The great thing about Borneo is that it is an island held in time and the collective Dayak tribes still exist their traditional way of life—still, to this day.

Their tribal tatoo is given to the boys of tribe as they successful cross in adulthood.  They are given the test of hunting alone, and upon making his first killed is he then awarded his tribal tatoo.  The tatoo contains special marking that celebrate this momentous event in the male’s life.  And, whereas a trip to the tatoo parlor in the West can sometimes be the result of a drunken night, tatooing in the Dayak culture is a time-honored and sacred ritual.

Basically, Dayak tattooing runs in accordance with their belief that all things have a spirit inside of them.  Therefore, by placing the image of an animal onto the skin the person will in fact imbibe the animal’s spirit.  To increase the animal’s energy, the actual ink will have powdered bone or meteorite will be added to the soot or charcoal mixture and hand tapped into the skin.

As part of the tribal tatoo ritual the Dayak will a sacrifice a bird in honor of their ancestor allowing the blood to spill and the entire tribe break out into chanting.  In addition to the rite of passage tatoos, great headhunters are given special hand tatoos, known as a tegulun.

The women also have the chance to receive tatoos to commemorate their skills of weaving or other jobs of daily life.  The female Dayak tribal tatoo is actually similar to the tatoos of the Native American Indians near Illinois.  Like the other tatoos of the other great tribes of the world, the Borneo tribal tatoo is characterized with swirls and black chunky lines in all different linear and circular patterns.

The Borneo Tribal Tatoo is a celebration of life and a particular person’s connection with their inner strength and skills.  It is a way to connect ourselves with the world around us, and therefore in choosing a Borneo tribal tatoo can be a very meaningful and powerful way to express your self.  In our modern tattoo world, Borneo tattoos have become one of the most popular of all the tribal tattoos and one you might be interested in checking out!