I Want A Tattoo

Okay, confession time. One of my secret wishes for a very long time (25 years), is to make a tattoo. I was a teenager when I expressed that desire and now a quarter of a century later I still have the same wish but never have the gut to give it a try. I gave a lot of reasons for not doing it, one is due to religious reason, but the main reason is I am afraid of the pain. Me afraid of the pain? Quite unbelievable considering it comes from someone who had survived childbirth twice and gone under the knife (major surgeries) twice!

Note: I am a Christian and some Christians might feel 'stumble' or uneasy about this topic, but rest assured I have sought advice from a reputable church leader about this ;)

So why do I want to do this? Am I vain? Or just for showing off?

Well, I come from Sarawak, Malaysia Borneo and my tribe, Iban, is well-known for our tattoos. The main indigenous people of Borneo is divided into several tribes. In Sarawak we have the Iban, Bidayuh, Kelabit and Melanau. At the border of Sarawak and Kalimantan (Indonesia) we have the Kenyah, Kayan and Penan. In Sabah, Malaysia we have the Kadazan, Murut and Dusun. And in Kalimantan (Indonesia) we have the Ngaju.

Spirits play a big role in our daily life and they represent many things like animals, plants and people. Traditional tattooing is an important part of our culture and it is usually performed in sacred rituals. Tattoo motifs usually depict images of animals and plants. Tattoos signify a person's status in our society and they also served as a diary of his or her life. For example, in the olden days, the headhunters would get their fingers tattooed after a successful attack on an enemy territory. This tattoo is known as tegulun.

Image source

As these headhunters reach different milestones in their life, more tattoo would be added.

The most well-known Iban tattoo motif is the bungai terung. It literally means 'eggplant flower'. This tattoo motif is the first tattoo a teenage Iban boy would receive because it marks a transition from boyhood to adulthood. The motif has a spiral at the center that is known as tali nyawa (rope of life). This spiral is identical to a tadpole's visible intestine and to the Iban, it symbolizes a new journey in life.

Image source

In Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry music video, the male model actually had this tattoo on both of his shoulders. Interesting and amusing at the same time.

So back to my desire to get a tattoo. Will I dare to go for it or will it be just a wishful thinking? Well, I think if I ever do it, it will be a discreet one, somewhere that can't be seen but I will not tell you where that's gonna be. Or maybe I will not do it at all....who knows...

The stencil artwork

The source image for this artwork is taken from a public domain site. This cool tattooed guy is lighting up his cigarette. I thought it would be cool to manipulate this image to create a stencil art.

Here are the progress photos...