India: Land of Eternal Ink

Article © 2009 Lars Krutak

Mysore

Around 1900, Korathi (Gypsy) women tattooed both sexes through a form of pricking (Fig. 12). Sometimes they inked intricate kolam designs on their clients or other motifs to aid in beautification (Figs. 13 & 14).

Fig. 12) Tattoos of Mysore	Fig. 13) Tattoos of Mysore	Fig. 14) Kolam & other Mysore tattoos

Korathi artists were nomadic and roamed about the country in every direction. Their fees consisted of rice, plantains, betel leaves and nuts, and sometimes they were enhanced by a present of cash.

The artist generally pronounced a benediction for the welfare of the individual to be tattooed, and then she began the operation. While plying her client's skin, she chanted nursery rhymes or sang Gopika Gita songs with the object of making the person undergoing the operation disregard the pain. One example of a Korathi tattoo song sung during the operation follows:

"Stay, darling stay - 'tis only for an hour,
And you will be the fairest of the fair,
Your lotus eyes can soothe the savage beast,
Your lips are like the newly blossomed rose,
Your teeth, they shine like pearls; but where are they
Before the beauties of the handwork.

"Stay, darling stay - 'tis only for an hour,
And you will be the fairest of the fair,
I've left my home, all day long I toil,
So to adorn the maiden of the land,
That erring husbands may return to them,
Such are the beauties of my handwork.

"Stay, darling stay - 'tis only for an hour,
And you will be the fairest of the world,
In the days of old, fair Sita laid her head,
Upon the lap of one of our clan,
When with her lord she wandered in the wild,
And like emerald shone her beauteous arms.

"Stay, darling stay - 'tis only for an hour,
And you will be the fairest of the fair,
And often in the wilds, so it is said,
She also of the Pandus went in quest,
Of one of us, but found not even one,
And sighed, she was not her sister's blest.

"Stay, darling stay - 'tis only for an hour,
And you will be the fairest of the fair,
My work is done, rejoice, for you will be,
The fairest of your sisters in the land,
Rejoice for ever more, among them you,
Will shine as doth Moon among the stars."

The pricking instrument usually consisted of three or more needles tied together with a thread. The pattern was selected from a bundle of drawings, and was first traced on the skin with a small pointed stick, dipped in the prepared ink that is pricked in with the needles. The part of the skin to be tattooed is washed in cold water, and a coat of ink rubbed over the surface. To allay the pain, a little coconut oil is applied to the wound. A small quantity of turmeric powder is also added to brighten the color and to prevent swelling. It was said that some of the pigments used in tattoo were known to the ancient doctors of India, and this led to the suggestion that the custom had been recorded of persons tattooed on their chests and shoulders with the object of getting rid of pain - usually rheumatism.

A variety of pigments were utilized: 1) Betel-leaf juice is smeared over a new tile which is exposed to the flame of a castor oil lamp to cause the soot to deposit thereon. The soot is then mixed with cow's milk or women's breast milk; 2) Human milk is mixed with the soot adhering to the bottom of an earthen frying pan; 3) the juice of Dolichos lablab l. is spread over the convex surface of a new tile, then turmeric powder is sprinkled over it. The tile is held over the flame of a gingelly or castor oil lamp to form soot, which is then scraped with a twig and kept in a small earthen vessel ready to be used, at any moment, with a little water added to it.

Tattoo clients believed that their marks acted as a passport for the forgiveness of sins and admission to heaven. The absence of tattoo marks was believed to invoke the displeasure and condemnation of Yama, the god of death. Some forms of tattooing were also believed to act as talismans and to bring riches to those who bear them. And in some regions of Mysore it was also reported that Hindu women who were not tattooed with certain designs were considered unclean; they were prohibited from touching corn spread upon the threshing floor or to serve at dinner.

Fig. 15) Tattoos from nature

According to other Hindu traditions recorded around 1910 in the area, Vishnu is said to have tattooed the hand of Lakshmi with the figure of his weapons, and with that of the Sun, Moon and Tulsi plant (Ocimum sanctum) as a protection for her during his wars with demons (Fig. 15). It was told that he promised to protect those who wore the same marks from all evil influences. Moreover, Lord Krishna was in the habit of tattooing his four totems, the sankh ("conch"), the chakra ("wheel"), gada ("mace"), and padma ("lotus") on the faces and limbs of his wives. The priests of the ancient city of Dwaraka placed some of these marks on the arms of the pilgrims to Krishna's shrine.

Another tradition attributed to tattooing is to Sita, the wife of Rama. The alleged reason is the belief that tattooing had its origin in the fear of enemy abduction of the indigenous women of India. The tribal marks among the crude drawings would help them in identification and included ornaments, religious drawings, charms and symbols.

Of course, there are still more tattooed referents to the Hindu pantheon and sympathetic magic. A dot on the forehead is a symbol of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. A tattoo of Sita is the emblem of chastity. The figure of a peacock indicates royalty. The fish is the symbol of fertility and good luck, and the comb is a symbol of happy married life. It was also recorded that individuals who worshipped Ganesh and who were about to be tattooed practiced the following ritual: "They stick green grass into a ball of cow-dung to represent the god Vinayaka [Ganesh], burn frankincense and offer coconuts into a fire, as this is supposed to avert the effect of the evil eye."

Madras

Fig. 16)  1) Pāniāri, 2) Krishna, 3) Conch, 4) Feet of Rama, 5-6) Kāvad, 7) Kali, 8) Hanuman, 9) Holy Men, 10) Footprints of Ramdevji

Like their counterparts in Mysore, the tattoo artists of Madras were always women who traveled the countryside in search of clients. They departed Madras during the harvest season and made professional visits to the neighboring districts, traveling as far as Pondicherry in the south and Cuddapah in the north. Their clients included Brahmin women, other Hindus, Paraiyas, and Tamil Muslims. The patterns ranged from a dot or straight line to complex geometrical designs. Sometimes motifs from the domain of nature were given including scorpions, birds, fishes, and flowers like the lotus - some of which are symbols of luck. Among women, many parts of the body were selected for tattooing including the arms, forelegs, forehead, cheeks, and chin.

Occasionally, in cases of muscular pain or other disorders, the tattoo "operation" was performed as a remedial agent over the shoulder joint, or on the thigh, or other parts of the body. One report noted the case of a Bedar man in the Bellary district who had dislocated his shoulder and had been tattooed with the figure of Hanuman to relieve the pain. Hanuman is the monkey king and ally of Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana (Fig. 16).

A legend runs to the effect that many years ago, a Paraiya woman wished her upper arms and chest to be tattooed in the form of a bodice. The operation was successfully performed until the region of the heart was reached. Unfortunately, the tattoo needles punctured the vulnerable organ and the woman died, and since that time has arisen a superstitious objection to tattooing of the breasts.

Fig. 17 & 18) Tamil kolam tattoos

According to a 1906 report, the Tamil equivalent of tattooing was called pachai kuthikiridu, or pricking with green (Figs. 17 & 18). Traveling Korava women who are also fortune tellers were the tattooists and their ink was prepared in the following manner. Turmeric powder and the leaves of Sesbania grandiflora were ground together in a mortar or on a grinding stone. The mixture was spread on a thin cloth, and rolled up in the form of a wick, which was then placed in an open lamp charged with castor oil. The wick was lit, and the lamp covered with an earthen pot upon which the lampblack was deposited. This soot is scraped off, and mixed with mother's milk or water. The pricking instrument was comprised of three or four more sewing needles fastened together with thread.

Tattoo patterns were selected from a bundle of drawings on paper which were created by the artist. She first traced the desired motif on the skin with a blunt stick dipped in the prepared ink, and then proceeded to prick-in the tattoo. Once completed, the tattoo was washed with cold water, and a coat of pigment rubbed over the surface of the design. To decrease the pain, an unidentified oil was applied to the wound and a small quantity of turmeric powder was rubbed-in to brighten the color and prevent additional swelling.

Korava artists were able to execute complicated patterns with considerable dexterity. Because most of them were illiterate, they were unable to tattoo initials or names unless they were first drawn for them. That being said, they were also reported to have the ability to tattoo any pattern, no matter the complexity, provided that it was illustrated for them. Even as early as 1910, it was documented that intricate Burmese patterns were being copied by Korava tattooists in Madras.

Around 1910, the tattooer's fee reportedly ranged from a 1/4 anna (e.g., one anna is equivalent to 1/16 of a rupee today) for a dot or line to twelve annas for a complex design. In rural villages payment appears to have been made in-kind, and a present of rice to be the usual remuneration.

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Museum photo gallery of these images may be seen here.