Meanings of Aboriginal Tattoo Designs

Friday, April 1, 2011

Aborigines are people who originally came from Australia and they boast of unique cultural aspects among them the aboriginal tattoo. For quite a number of years, all of the diverse groups and tribes came up with unique cultures that were completely different from others in the world as well as from among themselves. Art bears much significance to them and this is religiously, personally and traditionally.

Artwork from the Aborigines is normally used in traditional rituals and ceremonies. The artwork is usually done on people, on barks, trees, stones and inside the sand. Most probably, body painting presents the oldest kind of art as far as the Aborigines are concerned and this is still the situation today.

Body painting, just as with tattooing, makes use of symbols and designs to decorate human forms. Aboriginal designs are mostly complex and elaborate, and makes use of cross catching, dots and lines to make beautiful images and patterns. The designs only make use of a few colors because natural supplies such as ash, blood and clay are not in abundance.

Due to the fact that dreams and nature are quite significant to the Aborigine culture, the clans from the tribe frequently incorporate these images into their artwork. Landscapes are normally used when dreams or stories are being told and are usually shown using aerial views. Another tradition that is incorporated into the art is showing the animal’s insides within its shape’s outline. Fish, birds and land animals are commonly drawn using visible organs and a skeleton. In the same way, human females entail a visible womb. Artists in some instances make use of their hands to act as stencils to be used for the formation of another image’s outline, for instance a print drawn from the hand made to resemble a bird. This shows the connection existing between the aboriginal tattoo and nature, which the Aborigines regard very highly.

A big part of artwork from the Aborigines is private and only one specific clan that makes it knows it. Due to this fact, Aboriginal artwork entails two meanings. The first entails knowing of the symbols generally both outside and inside the culture. In some instances, the symbols can be seen easily while in other instances the group explains them, thereby sharing this part of their unique culture with people from the outside world. The second on the other hand is known to the particular tribe it originates from and cannot be revealed to other people and this includes other Aborigines. It meaning is religious and personal and is only for a particular group and therefore remains a secret. So as to keep these secrets, historians of the art world are of the belief that the artists include more dots which is a distinctive trait belonging to Aboriginal art which is a means of concealing and hiding the true significance of the artwork and not just for decorative purposes. For some the dots are significant on their own and their use is not for camouflaging cultural secrets but come with their own secret meaning.

Modern tattoo designs from the Aborigines have their basis on these historical methods. Despite the fact that many traditional Aborigines are not tattooed in line with culture, A number of tribes make use of ritualistic cutting or scarification to have their bodies decorated permanently. People go for Aboriginal artwork as a means of expressing the beliefs they have on the connection existing between man and nature shared by a number of Aboriginal cultures. Additionally, the Aborigines could want to look into their customs in a way that suits their lifestyle better such as having an Aboriginal tattoo.