The New International Encyclopædia/Tattooing

TATTOOING (from tattoo, from Tahitian tatu, tattooing, tattooed). The practice of decorating the surface of the body by introducing pigments under the skin. The process consists in pricking the skin with a sharp instrument and inserting the pigments, usually powdered charcoal, in the punctures. The design appears in a deep blue color and is indelible. In the modern development of the custom other pigments have come into use.

As a primitive mode of ornamentation, tattooing is very widespread, its distribution as compared with the related custom of scarification being determined by the color of the skin. In general, light-skinned races tattoo, while dark-skinned peoples practice scarring.

The original significance of tattooing is disputed. It has been held by some authorities that it had a religious or social meaning, but the best evidence goes to show that it was at first purely ornamental in character. It must indeed be admitted that in many instances the tattooed designs have a tribal or clan or even a religious meaning, but this usage is probably a derivative of the decorative.

The patterns range from simple lines and dots to complex designs. Probably the highest development of the custom among primitive peoples is in New Zealand, though it is also much practiced in various parts of the East Indian archipelago and in Polynesia. The tattooing of the natives in North and South America and in parts of the world other than those mentioned above is, as a rule, of simple character. In modern times and among higher races the Japanese have brought the art to its highest state of perfection. The prevalence of the practice among sailors of all nationalities is well known, but in both these eases the patterns in use have entirely lost their primitive characteristics and are of civilized origin. Consult Lacassagne, Les tatouages (Paris, 1881); Joest, Tätowieren, Narbenzeichnen und Körperbemalen (Berlin, 1887).