Tattooing in Tribes and Armband Tattoos

Tribal tattoos might be the most popular form of tattoos in the world right

now, they are instantly recognizable buy medications with their dramatic use of aggressive dark

lines in jagged symmetrical shapes spread throughout the skin.

Tattooing in tribes and armband tattoos had a wide range of meanings some quite bizarre such as the tattoo of the Yokuts of California, these tattoos marked the location of a person's supernatural power.

Tribal tattoos such as the variety of armband tattoos actually designated what

tribe you were in or your status in that tribe. Different tattoos have been

used by different cultures for hundreds of years as marks that show the affiliation

of people within a particular culture or ’society’. In many cultures tattooing in tribes was and to this day still is a community event with all the tribe coming together and celebrating the traditions of their ancestors.

Certain designs depict different stories made on the different parts of the body such

as wealth, rank, tribe affiliation, direct family, their role in society, acts

of strength, and deeds of bravery. Many tribal tattoos were administered as proof

of the power of certain totem animals over the lives of those they chose to guard and bless.

While tattooing in tribes and armband tattoos were originally used to identify members of specific tribes, represent battles fought, and to serve as a form of camouflage, today these tattoos are more a popular ornamental design void of any traditional knowledge.