Star girl versus traditional tattoos

She has been hot news for weeks, the Belgian star girl. She is said to have fallen victim to an extreme tattoo artist who tattooed 56 stars on her face instead of just 3. The young lady reportedly fell asleep during the tattooing. According to an examination by a dermatologist, the tattoo was applied too deeply, causing 18-year-old Kimberley Vlaeminck to faint. But rumors are circulating that the star girl chose the 56 stars herself. However, when her father saw the result and flew into a rage, she allegedly made up the story. Others suspect it is a stunt by a radio station. One thing is clear: the star girl has caused quite a stir. The Maori would probably be amazed by all the commotion. The Maori are familiar with the ta moko. This is a type of tattoo applied not by many small dots, but by scraping and scratching into the skin. Consequently, the skin of the moko is not smooth but grooved. High-ranking Maori wore mokos. They were also considered attractive. Men usually wore moko on their faces, buttocks, and thighs. Women wore them on their lips and chin. Nowadays, the old technique of scratching is hardly used anymore; instead, tattooing is employed. Sometimes, mokos are painted onto the skin for tourist purposes. The pattern of a Maori tattoo is depicted on the New Zealand postage stamp (1970). In Bosnia and Herzegovina, traditional tattooing takes place exclusively among the Catholic population and almost exclusively among women. It usually involves crosses tattooed on the hands, fists, and forearms. Sometimes on the chest or forehead. During the Islamic rule of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the tattoos were intended to prevent Catholic women from being imprisoned or changing their religion. Nowadays, traditional tattoos are rare and can almost only be admired on older women. The 2004 postage stamp of Bosnia and Herzegovina shows a beautiful example of a traditionally tattooed woman's hand. On the islands in the South Pacific, such as French Polynesia and Samoa, tattoos are applied using a type of comb with sharp points. A stick is used to strike this comb. In Samoa, people derive status from having tattoos. A tattoo is called a pea. The series of stamps from Samoa from 1981 depicts the art of applying a pea. French Polynesia issued stamps in 2000 in honor of an international tattoo festival. Beautiful stamps featuring images of traditional tattoos. Some researchers believe that tattooing has existed since Prehistory. Tattoos are said to have already been depicted in rock carvings. However, this has never been proven. After all, the human body decomposes quickly. Very occasionally, a well-preserved body from an ancient civilization is found, such as the body of a man frozen in a glacier in 1991. Hikers discovered the body, which turned out to be 5300 years old. 57 tattoos were found on the body. A few decades ago, tattoos were still seen as something for sailors and, moreover, were often associated with criminality. Nowadays, we see tattoos in all walks of life. Tattoos are “in fashion”. In 2006, Aland placed some modern tattoos on postage stamps. You may love them or not. One thing is certain: some tattoos are true works of art.

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