Tattoo Culture
Tattooing in Thailand is very different to what you normally expect from tattooing methods. Instead of the well-known tattoo gun that you would expect, Thai tattoo artists use a two-foot-long bamboo stick or needle. It is pushed in and out the skin over and over until the design is complete. Although there are some tattoo artists who will tattoo people who cannot bare the pain with an electronic machine. The intricate designs of the tattoos are believed to protect the individual from danger and also give them power. They also determine a male figures status and military level
Tattooing in Thailand is particularly called Sak Yant tattooing, and is popularly taken place at the temple of Wat Bank Phra by a monk. Sak means to tattoo or to tap, and yant means yantra which is a type of mystical diagram. Expectedly many people believe that using bamboo stick is not sanitary, the only hygiene precaution took is that the stick is dipped into rubbing alcohol before being used on the next person. Thai artists believe that before the person leaves the temple with their new tattoo, they have to run a knife over their neck which protects them from harm. They also have to abide by certain rules and are punished if they break those rules. The rules are different depending on the tattoo artist but a popular example is to avoid eating certain types of food particularly at certain events.
One day during March every year the Thai people have an event at Wat Bang Pra where they go to receive their sacred tattoos; the festival is known as Wai Kru. It is thought that it is supposed to rejuvenate the power given to the individuals who have received tattoos. There is a particular monk artist called Luang Phor Pern who’s shrine people rush to get to as his tattoos were known to provide special abilities.
A lot of tourists go to Thailand to get a tattoo as it is a lot cheaper than other parts of the world and the method of tattooing is peculiar.
Scandinavian countries such as Sweden commonly contain people with a lot of tattoos; Sweden is ranked the most tattooed nation in the world. It is known that the majority of Scandinavian deep water sailors have 90% of their bodies tattooed. The style of Scandinavian tattoos are very abstract and relate to Viking time objects. The Vikings use these symbols or letters for spiritual reasons and they are thought to be injected with magical interpretations. Together they make different spells and are used in the tattoo design as a role in the magic amulet. The symbols typically seen in Scandinavian tattoos are Nordic text.
Scandinavian tattooing dates back all the way to the Viking era where all the men were “tattooed from the tips of their fingers to their necks”. They were commonly trees and symbols in a dark green colour yet it is thought that the ink was actually dark blue as they used wood ash to dye the skin. The tattoos were used as a form of personal identification, and the popular Vikings believed that after death in another life, they would help you find people of the same family and culture.
Scandinavian Viking tattoos are popularly designed by todays tattoo artists and can be found all over the internet. Some of the most liked designs today include the compass which was called the Vegvisir; and the Help of Awe which is one of the “magic” tattoo designs which grants magical powers to the wearer that allows them to strike their enemies with fear and confusion.