History of Tattoos: Tattoos and the Catholic Church
The Catholic missionaries who followed in the wake of the explorers and conquerors considered it their sacred duty to convert the populations of the new territories to Christianity and “civilize” them. Like cannibalism and human sacrifice, tattooing was regarded as barbaric and heathen. Excessive violence and the devastating effects of European diseases resulted in entire tribes and their cultures disappearing. Ironically, survivors of this assault were tattooed and branded with marks of ownership, and transported to Caribbean sugar plantations or South American silver mines. The indigenous peoples of the Amazon put up the most resistance to foreign influences, and their tattooing culture endured the onslaught.
From the eighteenth century, the Catholic Church’s role in the disappearance of old traditions diminished, and in South America it even supported the local population. Bishops governed regions with special rules related to legal and social conditions.
The role of the Catholic Church was more conservative in the South Pacific. Additionally, Western influence increased the inhabitant’s awareness of alternative value systems. Younger islanders began resisting the painful tattooing procedure because it appeared to only be practiced locally, not internationally. On the islands with church mission stations that church was more influential in bringing about the decline in tattoos however most of the decline came from within.
As is typical of many Western and European attempts to “change” those unlike them, the missionaries tried to convince native women not to tattoo their bodies because “European women would never do such a thing.” Fortunately, the women were not to be so easily swayed; they felt that tattoos were necessary, even if limited to the face as a means of countering the signs of aging. In some instances, they informed the missionaries that their practices were the latest fashion, a statement that even Darwin admitted would have never been questioned if said in Paris! In Maori tattoos began symbolizing one’s individualism and independence. In some areas tattooed boys refused to attend school with non-tattooed boys, who were considered cowards.
By the time Darwin began his global travels tattoes were on the decline. As he noted, only older Tahitians had the traditional sock tattoo that was widespread at the time of the first contacts with the Europeans a century earlier. The most striking example of this was in 1812, when the explorer Von Langsdorff, visiting the Aleutian Islands, became the last Westerner to observe the local tattooing culture in that area.
Interestingly enough, the act of inserting pigment into the skin by pricking it was known as the “Polynesian Technique.” In the 1700’s and 1800’s little was written about the deep significance of tattooes and their meaning, in part due to the communication barriers that existed between Europeans and Pacific Islanders. Additionally, not all tattoo-related information obtained from the islanders was reliable; they tended to exaggerate some of their customs in order to impress or frighten the explorers.
Ironically, despite the efforts (and success) of many of the Catholic Church missionaries, it was the European mariners that helped spread the popularity of tattoos. They often returned home with tattoos and regaled audiences with their tales of bravery and endurance during the tattoo application process!
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Popular Free Tattoo Patterns: The Rose
A fairly complex symbol, it is linked to both heavenly perfection and earthly passion. The symbol represents Time and Eternity and Fertility and Virginity.
The rose symbolizes:
- perfection
- completion
- the mystery of life
- the heart center of life
- the unknown
- beauty
- grace
- happiness
- passion
- sensuality and seduction
In the symbolism of the heart the rose occupies the central point of the cross, the point of unity. As the flower of femininity it represents love, life, fertility, beauty, verginity, and creation. The thorns of the rose represent pain, blood, and martyrdom. The rose also represents eternal life and eternal Spring.
The different rose colors also have meaning:
Gold/yellow rose: perfection
Red rose: desire, passion, beauty, consummation, joy, charity
White rose: innocence, virginity, spiritual unfolding, charm
Red & white rose together: the union of fire and water, the union of opposites
Blue rose: unattainable, the impossible
The rosette and the Gothic rose also have wheel symbolism, denoting the unfolding of power, making the rose an emblematic equivalent (in Western culture) of the Asian Lotus. A secondary meaning of the rose is discretion.
Rose Symbolism & Mythology
Egyptian: roses were sacred to Isis because they symbolized true love free from any carnal ties.
Hebrew: the center of the rose is the sun and the petals are infinity.
Graeco-Roman: symbolizes love, joy, beauty, desire, and was an emblem of Aphrodite/Venus. Roses were brought at the Rosalia festival and scattered on graves. The Roman Emperor wore a crown of roses. The red rose was believed to grow from the blood of Adonis and was a symbol of Aurora, Helios, Dionysos and the Muses. Additionally, Cupid allegedly stopped gossip about Vanus’ indiscretions by bribing the god of silence with a rose. This led to the hanging of live roses or painting of roses above Roman council tables as a sign that conversation within the room was private or confidential.
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Butterfly Tatoo Patterns & Symbolism
Classical mythology associates butterflies with the soul. Psyche is often represented as a butterfly. Sylphs, invisible female spirits of the air whose voices are heard in the wind, are named from the Greek word silphe, which means “butterfly” or “moth”.
The Aztecs associated butterflies with women who died in childbirth and warriors who died in battle. In some Chinese stories butterflies represent dead women’s souls, but they more often symbolize Summer, Joy, and Longevity!
For many Native American tribes butterflies symbolize the souls of the dead but also Transformation, because the insects emerge from the chrysalis. They also associate the butterfly with Beauty.
The butterfly signifies Fire to the Aztecs while in Celtic solar festivals the firebrand that rekindled the hearth fire after it had been extinguished was called the “Butterfly.”
From the bland caterpillar to the fantastic winged creature of astonishing beauty, the butterfly has become a symbol for transformation and hope, rebirth and resurrection, the triumph of the spirit and the freeing of the soul over the material world.
See also:
Most Popular Free Tattoo Patterns: Butterflies
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