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Kumpulan Tulisan Ttg Tattoo Tradisional - Tribal - Indonesia

 

Padang, Sebelum seni tato (seni lukis rajah tubuh) suku terasing di Kepulauan Mentawai (sekitar 110 km arah Barat dari garis pantai Sumatera Barat) punah, sebaiknya dilakukan usaha-usaha untuk mengkaji dan mendokumentasikannya. Soalnya, tato tradisi orang Mentawai hanya merupakan karya seni seumur manusia yang memakai. "Keberadaan tato suku/orang Mentawai berbeda dengan tato sekarang (modern), yang lebih merupakan urban sub-cultures, seperti dipakai kaum muda untuk jati diri gengnya. Tato Mentawai luar biasa dan unik, memenuhi seluruh tubuh dari kepala sampai kaki dan sarat dengan simbol dan makna," jelas Adi Rosa, pelukis dan peneliti seni rupa jebolan pascasarjana seni rupa ITB, di Padang, Senin (31/7). Hasil pencekan Kompas di Siberut, Kepulauan Mentawai Sabtu- Kamis (22-27/7), menunjukkan, generasi muda asli Mentawai tidak lagi berminat mewarisi budaya tato tersebut. Kebiasaan membuat tato sudah mulai hilang karena dilarang pemerintah tahun 1970. Hanya orang berusia 45 tahun ke atas yang bertato dan jumlahnya sekitar seribu- dua ribu (5 persen). Menurut Adi Rosa, kini dosen seni rupa IKIP Padang, tato merupakan salah satu budaya etnis tertua bangsa Indonesia yang hanya ditemui pada orang (suku) Mentawai dan Dayak. Bagi orang Mentawai, tato merupakan busana abadi yang dapat dibawa mati. Bahkan juga merupakan alat komunikasi dan status sosial. "Saya ramalkan, 10-15 tahun mendatang, tato Mentawai punah. Makanya dari sekarang harus dilakukan pendokumentasian baik secara visual maupun tertulis (dibukukan)," kata Adi, peneliti tato Mentawai. Dia mengakui, tato sebagai lukisan tubuh begitu terabaikan dari kajian-kajian seni rupa Indonesia. Buktinya, dalam buku Seni Rupa Indonesia yang diterbitkan Direktorat Kesenian Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (1975) dan buku Sejarah Seni Rupa Indonesia yang diterbitkan melalui Proyek Pengadaan Buku Pendidikan Menengah Kejuruan Direktorat Pendidikan Menengah Kejuruan Depdikbud (1982), tidak ada membahas masalah tato di Indonesia. Dari Medan, ada kekhawatiran tarian tradisi Melayu Ahoi bisa lenyap di masa datang akibat kemajuan zaman. Hal itu dikemukakan Kepala Bidang Program Pekan Budaya Melayu (PBM) XI, Dahri Uhum, di Medan, Selasa (1/8). Dalam PBM XI, hanya lima tim yang ikut lomba, yang dijuarai kabupaten Labuan Batu, diikuti Kodya Binjai, Deli Serdang, Langkat, dan Medan. Tarian Ahoi, katanya, menghilang seiring dengan kemajuan teknologi yang melanda sampai ke pematang sawah. Orang memanen padi, telah menggunakan mesin. Padahal, tarian ini dilakukan sebagai ungkapan rasa bahagia dalam menyambut panenan yang berhasil. (KK/RR)

The Indigenous Dayak in Kalimantan are known for the art of tattooing, but it is hard to tell whether it is an original tradition or whether it was introduced from outside.
It is strongly believed that the art of tattooing among the Dayak in Kalimantan, both in Indonesia and Malaysia, originated from China. Based on historical record, it is said that the Dayak came from Yunan province in the south of China and migrated to Southeast Asia, including Kalimantan. In China, it is traditional for kung fu schools to tattoo their students, mainly on the chest or shoulder with tigers and dragons to sig­nify the students studied at Shaolin temple. Moreover, the art of tattooing is not only common among the Dayak, but is also typical among Latin American Indian tribes, Japan's Aino, Indonesia's Mentawai and Asmat tribes.
In the old days, almost all Dayak men tattooed their bodies. But in some Dayak sub-tribes, such as the Dayak Kayaan, it is mostly the women, who were tattooed. Not many men were tattooed due to the requirements and restrictions. Kayaan men are tattooed only if they have been mengayo (head-hunting). If a Kayaan man has a tattoo on the upper part of his thumb, it means that he once went head-hunting. A headhunter is respected by members of his tribe. For Kayaan women, the tat­too symbolises beauty and pride. A Kayaan woman who does not have a tattoo considers herself lower in rank to those who have them. There are three types of tattoos for Kayaan women. The first one, tedak kasaa' covers the entire part of a woman's legs and is only for grownups. The tedak uses' covers her arms while tedak hapii' covers her thighs.
A series of ritual ceremonies should be performed before getting a tattoo.
Dayak Kenyah people tattoo their bodies inside a house especially built for the occasion. It is accompanied by certain ritual ceremonies. When a man is tattooed, every male member of his family is required to wear cawat (men's tribal wear) and they are not allowed to leave the house, while all members of his family should refrain from doing cer­tain things. If the requirements and restrictions are violated the life of the man being tat­tooed will be threatened. A rite called mela malam, or praying for the help of ances­tors in the tattooing process, is performed the night before a Kayaan woman is tattooed. The next morning, her family will take the woman to a rel­ative's longhouse near the house of the tattoo Each Dayak ethnic group tattoos a different body part. Dayak Ngaju, Iban, Punan and Ot Danum people tattoo all parts of their bodies. Since the process is painful some people have to be held down during the process so that they do not move. In the old days, parents would place a big letting (mortar) on their daughters to prevent them from moving. In the process, a picture is first drawn using common writing utensils. Then, it is slowly pricked with a needle until it bleeds. The needle con­tains ink made out of tree sap. After it heals, a tattoo is visible.

Religious Statement
The Dayak do not get their bodies tattooed for aesthetic reasons. For them, a tattoo is an expression of their religious beliefs, social status, heredity and initiation process. For them, a tattoo is an art form that has spirit, a living art. The Dayak believe the tattoo has deep meaning and an important religious sense. Tattooing their bodies is considered a holy act. For them, a tattoo is a means of expression to God. They believe a tattoo will turn away bad spirits, dis­ease and dead spirits. A tattoo as a means of expression to God is related to Dayak's cosmology. The Dayak separate the cos­mos into three parts: above, centre and underworld. Every cosmos part has its own God. Tattoos for the above world are mostly of the hornbill, moon and sun. A tattoo of a dragon represents the under­world, and the world where people live is symbolized by the Sawang or Sabang Kawalik (the tree of life). The tattoo as an initiation process means that after getting a tattoo a person can ful­ly take part as a member of the community. A Dayak man, for instance, is tattooed at 16 years of age. With a tattoo, he is responsible for his own life. A Dayak woman is tattooed after her first period. With the tattoo, she is considered mature and her rights and obligations as a member of the community are fully recognized. A tattoo is also used as a status symbol within the community. Upper-class people, such as a tribal chief, shaman and war chief, usually have tattoos sym­bolizing the above world. Symbols from the centre world are usually used by an imam, who becomes an intermediary between the above world and the underworld. Common peo­ple are usually tattooed with pictures symbolizing the underworld. Tattoo types and symbols are inherited from one generation to another. One group is not allowed to use a symbol from another group. In this way, a tattoo also symbolizes one's family.
Fading Out
These days, the art of tattoo­ing among the Dayak has almost vanished. Some tribes still practice it, but it is mostly carried out by older groups. Dayak youngsters long deserted the practice and if some of them still do it, it is simply for aes­thetic reasons. A researcher on Dayak cult­ure, Fulgen Natalis, said in 1998 that Dayak tattooing has lost its spirit and its religious, social and cultural meaning. The vanishing tattoo culture among the Dayak is contributed to rapid modernization and development. A religious figure once claimed that tattooing was a sin and those who had tattoos would go to hell. Communism in Indonesia between 1965 and 1980 also played a role in the loss of the tattoo tradition among the Dayak. Back then it was rumoured that anyone who had a tattoo was a member of the Communist Party.Now only a few Dayak have real tattoos, and most of them are from the older generation. Some Dayak people living in remote areas still continue the tradition but not all do it the old fash­ioned way, or follow ritual cere­monies along with the require­ments and restrictions. "The vanishing of the tradi­tion of the tattoo is regretful. Tattoos are one of the valuable works of art that should be pre­served," said Yohanes Eugene, a Dayak Taman artist.

http://www.dayakology.com/publications/articles_news/eng/tattoo.htm

 

satulelaki.com - Membuat tato di tangan atau badan, adalah hal yang biasa. Namun merajah wajah atau mentato wajah, hanya dilakukan oleh minoritas suku bangsa Cina Drung dan Dai, yang telah menjadi adat kebiasaan yang diturunkan oleh leluhur mereka. Diantara minoritas suku bangsa Drung, para perempuannya memiliki rajah pada wajah mereka. Pada jaman dulu, para perempuan kedua suku itu merajah wajah meraka disaat beranjak ke usia 12 atau 13 sebagai simbol kedewasaan. Caranya, adalah seorang perempuan yang berusia lanjut akan membenamkan sebilah bambu kedalam air berisi cairan hitam serta mencorengkannya ke wajah perempuan yang akan dirajah wajahnya. Kemudian menusukan sebuah sebuah duri ke dalam kulit dengan ujung yang telah dicelup warna hitam. Ketika goresan terbentuk, suatu bentuk berwarna biru tua tertinggal pada wajah. Rajah tersebut digoreskan antara kedua alis mata serta sekitar mulut dengan bentuk jajaran genjang (wajik) dan pada pipi dengan bentuk titik-titik yang membentuk sebuah gambar kupu-kupu terbang.Bentuk-bentuk rajah ini terkenal diantara orang sepanjang sungai Drung bagian hulunya. Sedangkan sepanjang alur sungai rajah tersebut lebih sederhana dengan dua atau tiga garis di bawah dagu.Rajah pada orang-orang suku bangsa Drung minoritas berasal dari Dinasti Ming sekitar 350 tahun yang lalu. Pada waktu itu orang-orang suku bangsa Drung biasanya diserang oleh kelompok suku bangsa lain, dan para perempuannya ditangkap dan dijadikan budak. Supaya terhindar dari perkosaan para perempuan suku bangsa Drung merajah wajah mereka supaya menjadi kurang menarik dan dengan demikian melindungi diri mereka. Hal itu merupakan suatu tragedi. Walaupun para perempuan suku bangsa Drung tidak terancam oleh suku minoritas lainnya sekarang ini, mereka tetap mempertahankan kebiasaan rajah mereka dan hal itu merupakan simbul kedewasaan dari para perempuan suku bangsa Drung. Sementara dalam suku bangsa Dai, merajah juga merupakan sebuah kebiasaan kuno mereka dan masih dapat ditemukan pada beberapa desa di pedalaman wilayah suku bangsa itu atau Anda dapat melihatnya pada suku bangsa Dai yang telah berusia lanjut. Para lelaki serta perempuannya dirajah berdasarkan adat kebiasaan suku bangsa Dai. Untuk lelakinya dirajah pada bagian otot yang kuat dan perempuannya pada bagian belakang tangan, lengan atau diantara alis.Pada masa lalu anak-anak suku Dai menggambari tubuh mereka dengan lubang-lubang kecil ketika mereka berusia 5 atau 6 tahun yang dikatakan sebagai usia terbaik. Kemudian mereka dirajah pada usia 14 atau 15 tahun sebagai simbul mencapai kedewasaan.Tidak ada gambar tertentu pada rajah suku Dai, kebanyakan bergambar macan atau dragon yang digambar dengan cairan tanaman yang berwarna hitam. Orang-orang suku bangsa Dai memiliki sejarah rajah. Pada jaman kuno, mereka tinggal dipinggir sungai dan sering diserang oleh mahluk asing. Kemudian mereka mengetahui bahwa warna hitam tubuh dapat mengusir mahluk tersebut dan mereka mulai merajah tubuh mereka untuk melidungi diri mereka dari serangan tersebut. Waktu berlalu, kebiasaan merajah kehilangan fungsi aslinya dan telah menjadi simbul dari keberanian dan ketangkasan dari para lelaki dan kecantikan bagi para perempuannya. Sekarang rajah digambarkan pada bagian belakang tangan dalam bentuk bunga bersegi delapan serta sebuah titik rajah diantara alis mata dari para gadis yang melambangkan kecantikan mereka. Dengan rajah ini mereka dapat mengenali dengan mudah teman-teman satu suku mereka bahkan ketika mereka tidak memakai pakaian minoritas mereka.[wti]

 

Among the tribes in Borneo, tattooing is mainly associated with headhunting (a visible sign of success) for men and the coming of age of women - in some cases it symbolizes their social status. Tattoos are part of the "rites of passage" and next to blackened teeth and long ear-lobes, intricate tattoos on fingers, hands, lower arms, thighs, calves, and feet served as important elements of beauty for women. The darker the color, the better.Click on any of the images below to view full size. Use your browser's BACK button to return.
Get detailed explanations of some of these photos and others.

Tribes of Borneo

Apo-Kayans - Apo Kayan means the Kayan hill country bordering Sarawak- "A young woman's social position is also indicated, among other things, by the number of rings around the calves of her legs. It appears that originally the significance of the tattooing was as a protective device." (Tillema [ca. 1924-1927] 1989) Actually, it enabled them to travel to the land of the ancestors... see below...

The Apo-Kayans are a subgroup of the Dayak people (Dyak). They live in the central and eastern portions of Borneo - also in Sarawak. This entire cultural grouping is non-Muslim and indigenous to the area living along the banks of rivers in community longhouses. Communities number no more than a few hundred and they trace their descent through male and female lines (matrilineal and patrilineal descent). The Kenyah are also a part of this subgroup and live in the general area. The Kayan and Kenyah (speak different languages) have a caste system recognizing three distinct tiers of society: 1) family and relatives of village chiefs, 2) common villagers, 3) captives of war, outcastes, and vagabonds. The Iban are another subgroup also known as the Sea Dayak of Sarawak and have no class distinction to speak of.

Generally speaking, the indigenous peoples of Borneo are agrarian hunter-gatherers, cultivating rice on the hills and supplementing this with fish and game (utilize hunting dogs and lances for wild pig; blowpipes for smaller game). They employ the use of spears, blowpipes, and other iron implements. The ceremonial complex is highly developed and can be characterized by animism and polytheism. Worship focuses upon a supreme god of the upper world (who is male) and a god of the underworld (who is female). Numerous spiritual entities roam the jungles, good and bad, acknowledging their own lords. These rajas/lords are usually priests or priestesses. When possessed, they speak in the tongue of the spirits, "spirit language." Death chants are a feature of these shamans which are believed to release the soul of the deceased to the land of ancestors. Many such rituals include a strong sexual symbolism and contact. People are buried within wooden coffins for several years to be later exhumed and deposited into a raised burial platform - crypts on stilts. Of course, and in former days, intertribal warfare was common with headhunting as a major feature in their milieu. Today, they still maintain a slave complex.The Muruts (translates to "hill people") are the third largest indigenous group in Sabah - Northern Borneo. They are also agrarian hunter-gatherers who often shift locations and settle in more remote areas of Tenom, Keningau, and Pensiangan. They also live in community longhouses near rivers and were the last of Sabah's ethnic peoples to renounce head hunting.

Murut Legend of how tattoos protected men and women from crocodiles.
A crocodile family was having difficulty in producing the eggs needed to begin their family. The father was then sent by his wife to locate help. Not far upriver, a Murut kampong (native village) was discovered. The father approached a woman who was cooking dinner and she apprehensively agreed, fearing that her body would be snatched and eaten by the imposing crocodile. Together, they swam to a deep pool. The woman held on to the father's tail and they rapidly descended into the dark water until they reached the crocodile's nest. Soon thereafter, the Murut woman gave the ailing mother much needed advice and to the delight of the parents the eggs suddenly appeared.

The Murut woman returned to her home and because the crocodile parents were so pleased with her efforts, they promised all the Murut that if they tattooed an image of the crocodile on each shoulder, or two tattoos around their legs, all crocodiles would recognize them as friends and would never bring harm to them.

Paraphrasing after: Diary of F. Witti, Esq., During an Excursion in North Borneo from Maruda Bay to Papar - F. Witti (written in 1880 - never published).

The Dusuns are hill rice people as well, living in southeastern Kalimantan region near Mt. Kinabalu, the highest mountain in S.E. Asia.

Tribal tattoo distinctions

Muruts - Men who have fought, or who have gone on risky expeditions (headhunting I presume) are tattooed from the shoulders to the pit of the stomach, and all down the arms three-parallel stripes to the waist. (Hatton 1882) NOTE: This tattooing is similar to that of Siberut Island...

Rundum Muruts - stars on the front of the shoulder, above the breast, are often seen... each star denoted a head having been taken. When the third had been taken, another star was placed on the throat; then the forearms and thighs were tattooed, but with no special design. (Rutter 1929) 

Dusun (near Mt. Kinabalu) Tambunan Valley - bordering chiefs (Muslim chiefs) used to reconcile the Dusun by giving the aggrieved community some slave to dispose of; this is done by tying the slave up and spearing him through the thorax, then the men of the village each take a cut at the quivering body (slowly bleeding them to death). Whomever does this has the right to tattoo himself. (Alman 1963)

Kayans - A man is supposed to tattoo one finger only, if he has been present when an enemy has been killed, but tattoos hands and fingers if he has taken an enemy's head. The chiefs, however, often break with this rule, and have the whole of their hands tattooed if they have participated in  war expeditions. (Hose 1894)

Dayaks - For the Dayak of southern and westernn Borneo, tattoos and death were inextricably bound. When the soul (beruwa) left its human host, it journeyed through the murky depths of the afterlife in search of heaven - the land of ancestors. Dayak souls encountered many obstacles on their supernatural flight: The River of Death the most formidable. According to tradition, only the souls of tattooed women who provided generously for their families and headhunters who possessed hand tattoos - a token of their success - were able to cross the log bridge that spanned these dangerous waters. Maligang, the malevolent guardian of the bridge, oftentimes refused such passage forcing souls to descend into the river's depths to be eaten by Patan, a giant fish. However, if the soul was properly tattooed, it was free to pass into the darkness that awaited it on the other side. Although this dim world was silent and discomforting, the soul's tattoos began to burn brightly, in turn, guiding the incorporeal spirit to its final resting place among the ancestors.

At Long Nawang - Apo Kayan, Central Borneo - The chiefs of this village must give their consent for tattooing of the women. Tattooing of women affects men in very unpleasant ways as the result of the magic it works. For this reason, it is only permitted at intervals of six years or more, and when the process is completed, a celebration is held. The celebration counteracts the bad influences which threaten the men. But women sometimes go ahead with it anyway, without the chief's consent, and they then go to the Ma Kulit (Koelit), a tribe known for its skillful tattooing of women.

Literature

Alman, J.H. 1963. “Notes on Tatooing in North Borneo.” Journal of the Sabah Society 4: 78-88.

Hatton, F. [1882]. Diary of Frank Hatton Esq., During a Mineral Exploration Journey up the Labuk River and Overland to Kudat.

Hose, C. 1894. “The Natives of Borneo.” Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 23: 156-172.

Rutter, O. 1929. The Pagans of North Borneo. London: Hutchison & Co.

Tillema, H.F. 1989. A Journey Among the Peoples of Central Borneo in Word and Picture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Witti, F. [1880]. Diary of F. Witti Esq., During an Excursion in North Borneo from Maruda Bay to Papar. \

 

Dayak woman's thigh tattoos A Dayak man's tattoos Ukit man of the Rejang District Dayak woman's hand tattoos
A Kenyah man tattooed in the custom of the Ibans Tattooed thighs and calves of Dayak woman Bakatan warrior photographed near the Rejang River Thigh and calf tattoos of a Dayak woman.

 

However dozens of western visitors were impressed by the natural beauty of the Dayak, they didn't stop there, but they reached a hand to nature. Men and women decorated their bodies extensively with tatoos, pierces their ears and stretched their earlobes to wear as much earrings as possible. Men used the famous penis pin or palang for enlarging the possibilities of the penis.
The stretching of earlobes with the used of heavy metal rings is no longer seen as beautification. In the past the earlobes of women were pierced and loaded when they were very young. During growth, more rings were added and adult women sometimes wore over ahundred earrings. The discomfort - half a kilogram per ear - was of no importance against the imprression it made on men. An ethnograph which visited Borneo in the early 20th century, reported that the rupture of an earlobe was seen as a big disgrace. A damaged ear was hidden under the hair of a fabric sheet.
Men also wore a diversity of eardecorations, as well as in stretched earlobes as in holes tghat were made in the upper part of the earshell. A big diversity of objects was put in their ears: from decorated products from rhinocerosbird-ivory and - only for the successfull headhunters - nails and teeth of leopards and bears. Facial hair was seen as improper, even unmale. Dayak men still have the habit to depilate their facial hair.
Tattooing of the body was especially popular among aristocratic men and women. Some tattoes were meant to protect the person from illness, others were signs of proven courage. Among some populations, men who headhunted successfilly, were allowed to wear a tattoo on their throat. The tattoo was painfull, but is raised their status more than the pain could do bad. The motives were printed with a needle on a wooden handle; the most difficult prints needed about 600 hours of work. As color, damar and soot.
The chains and beads raised the status as well. Especially old beads were seen as very precious. A report written around 1930 reports a chain of Venetian beads, property of the Suldan of Kutai, which is said to be worth 'an entire Dayak-principalty'. The most precious beads, called lukit segala by some Dayak, were round and black, with a white and orange painting.

Penispins Raises Pleasure

The male decoration number one was - and still is in a certain way - the palang. The most simple description of the phenomenon makes clear what it is all about: 'The Kenyah, a number of Kayan and the Katingan mutilate the male organ by piercing the entire organ and put a piece of copper wire in it.
In the lively 'Into the Heart of Borneo', informs Redmond O'Hanlon in his guide about the how and why of the penis pin: 'When you are twentyfive, too old and not good enough anymore, and your wife has had enough of you, you go to the river early in the morning, and you stay in the water your javelin is really small. Then, the tatto-guy comes and puts a nail in your javelin. Then he puts a pin into it. Sometimes you get big spots, very painfull, an inflammation. Then you will die.'
Already around 1830, John Dalton, tradetraveller in Kaltim, reported the penis pin. Depending on your wealth, a golden, silver, copper or bamboo pin was used. The object was especially popular among the Kenyah in Dutch Borneo, but also got fashionable elsewhere on the island. In Sarawak, the penispin was a fairly modern appearance in 1944, Tom Harrisson reported.

Image  Tattooed Warrior

Harrisson was the first palang-expert. He managed to get an uncensored manucript from Pigafetta, the writer from Magellan, from 1521. He expresses his disbelief and contempt of it: 'I have asked many, young and old, if I could see their penis, because I could not believe it... They say their wifes want it this way and if, they didn't do it, they didn't want to have intercourse. When men have intercourse with their wife, they never do it the normal way, but very slowly... When it is inside, they take their normal position and it stays inside until it's soft again, otherwhise they can't get it out. The people use this because they have a wear character.'
Harrisson, which slowly admitted he had done the operation himself, continued: 'The operation on it's own is nothing more than making a hole in the end of the penis. The hole is filled with bone, bamboo oe other material, so it won't close again. When the aparatus is taken into use, the owner places the pin. To do that, there is a wide range of objects, pig hair, pieces is metal, seads, beads or broken glass. The purpose is to enlagde the size of the penis in the vagina.'
However these words, the whole palang operation is dangerous, which is done volunteerly with the meaning to raise the sexual pleasure of the woman. This is in sharp contrast with the forces clitorectomy and the closing-up of the vagina, operations which are somewhere else practiced on women.

 

The suspense inside the longhouse grew as Ngipa, the master tattoo artist, studied the newly stamped ink design on my leg. After several long minutes, he gave a sharp affirmative nod. There was a collective sigh of relief from the assembled watchers. Relief on my part would have been premature, however, for I was about to submit myself willingly to a long and painful process; one, however, that would make me permanent possessor of a beautiful piece of art work and priceless anthropological documentation, an Iban or Sea Dayak tattoo. My being the first white man to visit this place was sensation enough for its inhabitants, but my desire to wear an art form which, although venerated by the old, had been lately ignored or even shunned by the young as outdated and meaningless had the longhouse buzzing with curiosity and speculation. Would Ngipa agree to tattoo the stranger? What design would he choose? Could the white man bear the pain? My own questions exactly.

The story behind this small drama was my desire, as curator of Lyle Tuttle's Tattoo Art Museum in San Francisco, to document the current state of the art of tattooing among the Ibans or Sea Dayaks of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo.* The Ibans are the largest of the many different groups which inhabit the world's third largest island, situated just southwest of the Philippines. Once fierce headhunting people and pirating warriors, these people, like many other Southeast Asian cultural groups, have practiced tattooing as an art form for centuries. Nomadic by nature, the Ibans (according to their "tusut" or oral genealogical lore) began

their migrations from Kalimantan or Indonesian Borneo some fifteen generations ago, crossing over the natural division of the Kalingkong Range into Sarawak.

James Brooke, the British "White Rajah" who introduced written records to Sarawak, was granted control of the area in 1841 as a reward for helping to crush a local revolt. The Brooke family held feudal power until the early years of World War II brought Japanese occupation. (In the redistribution following the war, Sarawak along with Sabah in the north became British protectorates. In 1963, the two states voted to become part of the Malaysian federation and now, along with Brunei, still a British protectorate, comprise Malaysian Borneo, about a quarter of the island's land area.)

* Earlier, in 1970, I had received my first tattoos, stylized line groupings representing Dolphins, on the island of Yap in Micronesia.

In their attempts to establish authority, the Brookes made headhunting a "serious offence" but did little else to alter the Iban way of life or predeliction for tattoooing. Always energetic, restless, and constantly on the move the Sea Dayaks' migrations involved continual expansion into fresh territory. They occasionally asked permission to enter a new area but often simply attacked and drove off the original inhabitants. The land, cleared by the men and planted by the women, was invariably highly productive. Rivers provided fish, and forests were full of game. Life would go on comfortably until the land was no longer fertile, or the group grew so large that the area could no longer supply its needs. At this point, a new leader would emerge, split the group, and move on a neighborly distance to the next valley or down-river. British government policy discouraged the intertribal frictions caused by the Dayaks' migrations, and most tribal groups have settled into a more or less stationary existence.

My search for a village in which the custom of tattooing had survived the march of progress began at the Sarawak Museum. Located in the capital city of Kuching and internationally known among scholars for its fine collections of tribal artifacts, the museum's displays supplemented by photographs and diagrams graphically present the cultural background and distribution of Borneo's diverse population.

Mr. Peter Kadit, the museum's ethnologist, upon learning of my project, enthusiastically suggested the forest areas surrounding the village of Lubok Antu in the Second Division. Mr. Kadit had made studies in that area a few years earlier, and felt that the Lubok Antu area represented a middle ground -- not yet affected directly by the influence of city life, yet not as remote as other Ibans. He believed that its inhabitants reflected, at the moment, the probable direction in which the traditional Iban lifestyle and arts were headed. Mr. Kadit noted that a direct instrument of change has been the gradual extension of Sarawak's main road further and further from Kuching. I was infomed that it would take about eight hours by bus to reach my destination; less than a decade ago, the same distance would have taken the better part of a week. For the actual journey I was accompanied by Mark Wener, an American medical student (encountered at the museum in Kuching), who, hearing of my expedition, eagerly offered to photograph the entire operation. Mr. Kadit recommended an interpreter, one Mr. Jubin, a gentleman who turned out to be himself a worthy object for study as an Iban who seemed to have successfully navigated the cultural gap. Although born in what we would consider a primitive setting, Mr. Jubin, at a vigorous 70, had both feet planted firmly in the twentieth century, explaining that he had grown up on a river not too far from our destination but had moved to the capital as a young man and received some education there. He had, he noted proudly, been in the government employ for many years as a district administrator in some of the more remote areas of Sarawak. His command of English as well as administrative skills learned in Kuching during his youth, were now of great use to him in a busy network of profitable operations ranging from up-river guide service to a "tuak" (rice beer) distillery.

As we jolted along the first stage of our journey in a bus, sardine-packed in along with people and products of the city off to outlying villages for commerce or visits with country cousins, Mr. Jubin explained that his people were now very friendly and assured us that it had been many years since there had been any tribal fighting in the area. Peace, however, was a relative term, he said, pointing out with a touch of irony the bleak-looking army post where his son was stationed. Government troops use these posts as bases for periodic embarkings into the jungle to fight active Communist groups. I recalled the previous night at the movies in Kuching where the first images to appear on the screen were yearbook-style photographs of revolutionaries in neat rows, each with a substantial reward quoted above his head. When questioned about headhunting, Mr. Jubin admitted to "taking a few heads," but added quickly, "That was during the war when the old ways were briefly revived."

Upon arriving in the village of Lubok Antu, we headed for its center of activity, an open-air "restaurant" where a cool drink awaited us. Coincidentally, several officials from a longhouse about two miles upriver were gathered at the restaurant, and Mr. Jubin was soon able to relay to us an invitation to visit their community at their request; however, we waited at the restaurant until preparations could be made at the longhouse for a traditional welcome. A short time later, a guide appeared offering to carry our luggage in a basket on his back and beckoning us to follow him. After an hour of active hiking over a patchwork of roads and trails, crossing what seemed like every conceivable type of terrain, we spotted the longhouse, towering above a distant pepper field. (Pepper and rubber trees are the two main cash crops grown by the Ibans.)

After a brief introduction to those few souls not busy preparing for our grand entrance, someone suggested a bath in the river, a social interval which, we subsequently discovered, was a three-times-daily occurrence. A plunge into the fast-moving water was refreshing after our sweaty walk, as was the assurance that a recent government program to reduce the dangerously high crocodile population had been a great success. As sunset approached, however, it was suggested that we head back, not only because the longhouse was now in readiness, but because deadly cobras which remain hidden in the daytime invariably make public appearances while returning to their nests in the first cool of evening.

On approaching the longhouse, we gained entrance by climbing a notched log which, luckily for our city-bred feet, had rails on either sides. Entering the doorway, we were formally introduced to the "tuai rumah" or headman, then to his second-in-command, then down through a long line of other interested adults, to be finally surrounded by wide-eyed children whose faces were a study in mingled shyness and delight. It was surprising how quickly we began to feel comfortable, considering that we had just walked into the immediate home environment of fourteen different families under the same roof. The longhouse, common throughout Borneo, is essentially a one-roofed village. This one, built only two years earlier, was set back from the river and mounted on ten-foot stilts to avoid the possibility of damage by flood. It also reflected the influence of modern times with a metal roof, as opposed to the usual woven palm thatch. Traditionally built of a size to contain several hundred fighting men for defence, this longhouse's smaller size and number of residents (less than sixty), reflected another shift from earlier times.

Iban longhouses are divided into three parts; the center section or "ruai" is a kind of communal highway. The "tuai rumah" led us ceremoniously along this central path, while the women and children preceded us, carefully placing finely woven rattan mats which lent beauty as well as strength to the bamboo floor.

The second section, about one-half of the actual area, consists of "bileks" or walled-off living sections for individual families, carefully divided into cooking, eating and sleeping areas with great economy of space; somehow nothing appears overcrowded. It was here that one of the old men ceremoniously waved a live chicken over our heads as part of the welcoming ritual. We were then seated prominently by the door leading to the "tanju," an open verandah running the length of the house, on ordinary days used for drying rice or clothes. Since the split-bamboo floor of the "tanju" is constantly exposed to heavy rains, it was not as strong as it appeared, as Mark discovered several moments later when he walked out on it to investigate the view and disappeared with a loud crash, a muffled yell, and a great flurry and squawking of startled chickens, rudely displaced from their evening roost in the supports beneath. The children shrieked with delight at the unexpected addition to the proceedings; and Mark, along with everyone else had a good laugh; but I noticed his first walk down the "tanju" was also his last.
 

The ice, so to speak, having been broken, Mr. Yubin explained the purpose of our visit to the longhouse; and the idea was met with great enthusiasm and wonder. The fairly recent introduction of foreign religious taboos and new social ideas had led to an inevitable change in established aesthetic values. Tattooing in the Lubok Antu area, while not yet an extinct practice, had been clearly on the decline; but this new perspective on it generated an instant wave of enthusiasm. 

I explained through Mr. Yubin that I found the Iban designs very beautiful and that I hoped to gather as much information as possible, with the intention of presenting it in the form of an exhibition when I returned to America. Awed and delighted by this prospect, the men decided to take the necessary time away from their harvest work to draw the designs and prepare the tools for two leg tattoos. Harvesting, here as elsewhere in the world, is one of the most important activities of the year; and this break in schedule was only the first of many kindnesses shown us during our three-day visit.

click for larger version of photo

Our meal that evening consisted of leafy green vegetables, bamboo shoots with herbs, and fresh and dried fish, served along with the locally grown rice which made up the bulk of the meal. We were also treated to some salted wild boar, which, since the introduction of firearms, has become all but extinct near inhabited areas. Eating, like most other longhouse activities, took place on the floor. "A chair is useful only if one is too old to squat," I was informed. "Tuak," the mildly-alcoholic homebrew made from fermenting rice, helped to wash down what we soon discovered was only the first of three meals that evening, with the chicken that had been waved over our heads turning up on our plates in a somewhat less lively condition. After eating heartily with the "tuai rumah," we were guided a few doors down the "raui" to the second-in-command's "bilek" where we were faced, to our slight dismay, with another complete dinner. Our guide informed us that it was customary to eat with both leading families as well as the one which would provide us with sleeping mats. The second meal was as delicious as the first; however, Mark and I were relieved to see only tea and a simple bowl of fruit waiting for us as we entered the third "bilek."

Although the inhabitants of this longhouse had officially been Christians for the past decade, the traditional welcoming ceremony which followed the meals reflected close ties maintained with the spirit world. Under oil lamps in the center of the "ruai" crouched a carved, brightly painted wooden image of the hornbill, a bird which plays an important role in Iban mythology. Its spreading wings supported small human images in ceremonial clothing. In former times, when fighting dominated the Iban lifestyle, the hornbill carving was raised the night before an attack and pointed in the direction of an enemy longhouse. The Dayaks believed the hornbill's spirit would fly into the village and frighten enemies to death, leaving little resistance during the fight the following morning. In the flickering lamplight, the carved wings seemed to lift and quiver as young men and women took turns sitting on either side of the hornbill, chanting welcome wishes and requests for various offerings of tobacco, "tuak," food, and money to be placed in front of the image by the guests. Later, as the young women played individual brass gongs, a young man emerged from a dark corner and began a slow hypnotic dance. Someone suggested that Mark and I demonstrate how Americans dance, an idea which was met with loud applause. Although tempted for a moment to play Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, we decided in favor of a quickly improvised Irish jig. Judging by the uncontrolled laughter, the entire longhouse found us highly entertaining. We were convulsed ourselves, and realized that in a few short hours the Ibans had made us feel if not exactly at home at least very welcome.

The next morning, following the inevitable wash in the river and a breakfast of rice, vegetables, and tea, I brought out my camera but was not quite prepared for the enthusiasm of the response to it. After taking shots of most of the infant children, all of the teenage girls in their finest western-style clothing and half of the old folks, I adamantly hid the camera to save some film for our purpose of tattoo documentation.

During the morning's photo session, the men had been off working on drawings for my tattoo. Earlier, I had expressed a desire for either a traditional pattern or a combination of the traditional with a special commemorative design for this occasion. The Sea Dayak designs are bold and striking, a beautiful combination of mass and line with a remarkably open and airy feeling. The Ibans, in addition to being the most numerous of Borneo's many different groups, are also the most extensively tattooed. They have most probably taken the majority of their tattoo inspiration from the Kayans, a people displaced as the Ibans moved further into the interior of Sarawak. The Kayans have gone further in stylizing their designs, and an Iban and a Kayan with similar tattoos will probably assign completely different and personal meanings to the design. Iban women are also tattooed but not nearly as much as the Kayan women, the arms of the latter being so delicately tattooed that early explorers at first mistook the design for silk gloves. Fine line designs tattooed on the hands of Sea Dayak warriors indicate the wearer has taken a head. The heads of enemies were believed to have magical powers that would bring strength and virtue to the longhouse, and the taking of one was considered a crowning proof of manhood. The young women naturally encouraged the young men to fetch them heads at every opportunity.

The tattoo designs worn by a number of the men now busy composing mine were excellent examples of Sarawak motifs in isolation -- the stylized dogs, scorpions, and hornbills are also seen in the Ibans' basketry, woodcarving, and weaving. As in the rest of the Indonesian Archipelago, weaving, in Borneo, is a highly respected art. In Sarawak, the Iban and Malay women are among the few who have continued to practice the craft; and yet, like tattooing, it is a dying art form. As the taking of a head was an accomplishment of manhood, ability to weave was considered a prerequisite of marriage for a woman. Blankets, skirts, and jackets, now used primarily for ceremonial purposes, are woven on the simplest of looms and carefully stored in the owner's "bilek" until they are needed. Decorative geometric designs tattooed on a woman's forearm indicate exceptional skill as a weaver. Rosette motifs worn by the men on both shoulders are used, especially by the Sea Dayaks, as identity marks. They are often seen on the back as well, in earlier times applied in commemoration of special journeys and, more lately, simply as decoration. Small beadlike-tattoos are also traditionally put on fingers or wrist to ward off sickness.

Nowadays, unrelated to religious or cultural reasons, the desire to decorate the body seems to have become the major motivation for Iban tattooing.

Naturally curious about my own prospective body decoration, I had been peering over the shoulders of the men engaged in designing my tattoo off and on all morning between photos and, about midday, was finally allowed to spread out the various proposed designs for a real look. After discussing their merits, I suggested taking particular areas of each that appealed to me and working them into a single pattern to be repeated symmetrically on each leg. It was a challenge no designer could resist. They scattered to work individually, each determined to produce the desired result. Later, while walking down the "tanju," I spotted the "tuai rumah" crouched in a nearby doorway bent over an unfinished design. He was apparently unconscious of my presence; but as I watched, he filled in the remaining lines exactly as if I had been guiding his hand. Suddenly he looked up and saw me; the expression on my face told him more clearly than words that I had made my decision. By this time, the sun was setting. The rest of the evening was spent making tools and preparing pigment. All decided to retire early.

I had never been tattooed by this method before, but it was evident that skill and self-assurance are of the utmost importance in the manipulation of the simple Dayak instruments. Once a mark is struck, it remains forever. I had purchased some sewing needles in the village in case the traditional needles (thorns from a local bush) were not available. The tools were similar to those used throughout Southeast Asia. The artist ties his needles to a long stick; and by hitting this needle-edged tool with a hammer-like wooden striker, a design is punctured into the flesh. The pigment traditionally used is lampblack or soot mixed with pigs fat or sugarcane juice. The design I had chosen was drawn on a block of wood, and the negative areas were carved out to leave the pattern raised. When the ink block was pressed against my leg and removed, a clear, stamped impression of the design remained. Ngipa glanced up to check my reaction at tattooing's traditional "moment of truth." I gave him what I hoped was an insouciant smile.

I had shaved the part of my leg that was to be tattooed and had taken the precaution of applying an antibacterial salve. A week's supply of penicillin was stashed in my bag in case of possible infection. Thus fortified, I could only hold my breath and screw up my courage as Ngipa touched up the "stamped" design in a few spots. Then, advising me to lie down and make myself comfortable, he raised his tools and began. One hour later he had finished the outline. I was told another two hours were needed to fill in the design. Mark, busily photographing, took time to note that my brave pre-operation smile had faded quickly oonce Ngipa and another assistant began working at the same time. While not excruciatingly painful, a three-hour tattoo session is a long way from being entertaining. When the first leg was finished, I was grateful for a pause for a wash, a little lunch, and an hour's rest before beginning the second. Noticing a bottle of Chinese wine within reach, I decided to take a sip or two to keep my courage up. By the time the second tattoo was completed, the bottle was empty; and I could meet the admiring glances of the longhouse inhabitants with a proud, if fuzzy, bravado. Patting my shoulder proudly, Ngipa assured me that, if all went well, the scab which would form in a few days should be gone in a week, revealing my proud new Sea Dayak tattoo.

Afterwards, the knives, clothing, and tobacco I had brought along as an exchange for the tattoos were received with enthusiasm. We planned to leave early the next morning; and, in our honor, the "tuak," the music, the dancing, and the conversation flowed freely as the evening wore on. The hours drifted toward midnight in a happy haze, as small groups, after a last admiring look at my tattoo, headed down the "ruai" toward their respective "bileks." It had been a busy and exciting few days for everyone, and for the Ibans there was still the harvest to complete. As for me, I sat in pleasant contemplation of my tattoos trying to ignore the blank insistence of that empty spot near my ankle. The one I've been secretly reserving for the Shans of Burma.***

Leo Brereton was first exposed to tattooing on a tribal level while working in the Eastern Caroline Islands of Micronesia. An interest in researching and sharing the beauty of tribal designs led to a position as curator of the Tattoo Art Museum of San Francisco in the late seventies. Over the past dozen years, Leo has been traditionally tattooed by the Yapese of Micronesia, the Ibans of Borneo and the Shans of Burma. He is currently living and working among the Zuni Indians of Western New Mexico.

See some great tatoos

We gratefully acknowlege Leo's kind permission to reprint this article, originally published in "Tattootime" in 1982.

Recommended Reading - Borneo

These are selections from my collection that are of particular interest:

Among Primitive Peoples in Borneo

by Ivor H.N. Evans

Published by J.B. Lippincott, London, 1922

A description of the lives, habits and customs of the piratical headhunters of North Borneo, with an account of interesting objects of prehistoric antiquity discovered in the island. Many illustrations and a map.

World Within -- A Borneo Story

By Tom Harrison

Published by The Cresset Press, London, 1959

Contains illustrations, maps and figures.

Natural Man: A Record From Borneo

By Charles Hose, with an introduction by B. Durrans

Published by Oxford University Press, Singapore, 1988 (reprint from 1926)

Contains approximately 100 black/white illustrations and a map.

The Pagan Tribes of Borneo, Volume 1 of 2

By William McDougall and Charles Hose

Published by Macmillan & Co., Ltd., London 1912

A description of physical, moral and intellectual conditions with some discussion of ethnic relations. Color and black/white photos, illustrations.

Vanishing World -- The Ibans of Borneo

By Leigh Wright, Hedda Morrison, and K.F. Wong

Published by Weatherhill/Serasia, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, 1972

The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo, Volume 1 of 2

By Henry Ling Roth, with a preface by Andrew Lang.

Published by Truslove and Hanson, London, 1896.

Based chiefly on the manuscript of the late Hugh Brooke (Low Sarawak Goverment Service)

Contains photos, maps and illustrations.

Squatting Figures of Borneo

by Louis T. Wells, Jr.

Orientations Magazine, Volume 12, No. 1 (January 1981)

Pages 42 - 49 contains six pages of black/white plates.

Borneo Research Bulletin

Published by the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, April 1988

http://www.tribalsite.com/articles/borneo.htm

 

TATTOO'S BOX. For keeping tools of making traditional tattoo. Sliding lid. Original-used ritual-utensil of Dayak Iban, upper course of Kapuas river, west Borneo. 43 x 15 x 9 cm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tattoos of Sumba - Jamie Saul

Background

Located in the extreme west of the East Nusa Tenggara Chain , the Island of Sumba has, while linguistically connected to the inhabitants of Sumbawa and western Flores , developed it's own particular cultural patterns within the overall structure identifiable to eastern Indonesia . The Island itself can be divided in broad cultural terms into two sections forming east and west Sumba in which the former is more or less homogenous with the inhabitants speaking dialects of Kambera, while the latter is further broken down into various separate domains speaking mutually distinct dialects and characterised in former times by a continual state of warfare with reciprocal head-hunting and raiding.  

However, in the larger sense, certain common threads do emerge including the characteristic Indonesian division into three main social classes, those represented by noble lineage’s, free commoners and at the bottom the slaves and their descendants. In addition Sumba has other intermediate or sub-classes incorporating a class which provided priests and classes evolved from mixtures between the three main classes.

In the eastern division and, to a lesser extent, the western division there is an additional distinction between those who provided wives and those who received them, with the former regarded as ritually superior. Kinship patterns varied between the different ethnic communities and in the east a complicated system of asymmetrical alliance had developed through this system which played an important part in daily and ritual life.

The assembly and display of wealth was another important facet of Sumba life, particularly among the nobility and resulted in series of feasts of merit similar to those found on Nias which enhanced the prestige and reputation of the giver, culminating in those connected with the death ceremonies in which huge stones were dragged up and used to construct elaborate megalithic tombs adorned with carvings depicting the lineage and achievements of the individual. Historically, apart from earlier alliances with various Indonesian kingdoms, Sumba was largely left to it's own devices with very little interference beyond occasional trading missions by Indonesian, Portuguese and Dutch boats until the Dutch assumed nominal control in 1866. The Sumbanese did not take kindly to foreign attempts at domination and more than other islanders fiercely resisted attempts to impose foreign religions on them. This active resistance drove the  Dutch to embark on a pacification programme designed to subdue the inhabitants and bring them under their control, this control being administered by payment of certain stipends in gold to the various domain rulers who in turn were expected to control their subjects. The determination of the Sumbanese to resist domination enabled the retention of indigenous religious and customary practices with very little mission interference as experienced in other parts  and the fact that full control was not exercised by the Dutch until after 1910 helped to maintain this balance.[1] However, the focus of this particular study is the custom of tattoo and it's place within the overall cultural frame and the following notes will concentrate on this aspect of culture and how it interleaves within the general framework.

General  

The art of tattoo was followed by both sexes and when Kruyt toured the island circa 1920, he remarked on the presence of this custom  throughout , particularly in the western part which he regarded as the heartland of tattoo, a prevalence earlier remarked on by Ten Kate.[2] As to whether tattoo had spread from west to east or vice versa or indeed sprung from the same source and developed along different lines is open to question, although it should be mentioned that Kruyt was told in Langgaliroe, a village in the area seperating west from central Sumba, that they had learned the art of tattoo from Ankala, a western village.[3] Whatever the antecedents, tattooing was universal and certainly in the west continues to be practised on a diminished scale, Geirnaert Martin reporting that by the early 1980's it was gradually being abandoned in the Laboya area of west Sumba due to the pain involved and the risk of secondary blood poisoning. At this time most  women with tattooed legs were over the age of 50.[4] Needham also reported that tattoo was no longer in use during his researches in the Mamboru area although in other areas such as Kodi notwithstanding the fact that tattoo was no longer practised, there were still many women with tattoo marks in the 1970's as photographed by Hoskins.[5] As well as tattoo, other forms of skin mutilation were met with and Needham points out that youths in Mamboru would produce scars by igniting small tufts of tinder and leaving these on their arms until they were extinguished. This was done as a test of endurance and called "dutu lada" , the same custom being referred to as "mutu lada"  in Kodi. This practise was ceased around 1920.[6]

 Local name Tattoo was called "kakatoe" or "katati" in central Sumba (Ten Kate gives this as "katatu" or "Watoepde"),being known as "katakko" in Wajewa and "kamadila" in Laboya.[7] Forth confirms the name as "katatu" for Rindi.[8]

 Origin: At this stage I have not been able to locate any legends referring to the origin or use of tattoo.  

Sex and body parts tattooed:   Tattoo was chiefly applied to women, the lower legs being the main focus in Lamboya, others extending the shin and calve tattoo to the thighs, while arm tattoo was also encountered although, according to Kruyt, this was not considered essential. Certainly Hoskins pictures a women from Kodi in western Sumba with forearm tattoo although does not mention as to whether this was the common style in that district. Kodi wome also tattooed the thighs and legs[9]  Ten Kate mentions that in the north western areas as far as he could see the preference was for arms and legs with the women concentrating on the legs.[10]   Conversely, Forth says that in Rindi the lower arm was the most common, tattoo being less common on the upper and lower legs.[11] In the Mamboru men formerly tattooed on the chest while women on the legs and thighs.[12] In Melola in eastern Sumba , Ten Kate  saw a man with both arms tattooed.[13] Needham mentions that in Lamboya men tattoed on the chest and arms.[14]

Pattern Although Kruyt states that female pattern did not follow any specific form, being merely a black mark on the shin, Hoskins reports that pattern on the eastern side of the island was largely representational, including figures that looked like python, deer, horses, dogs, roosters and other animals. Forth also mentions the use of animals in tattoo for Rindi and includes rampant lions (no doubt under Dutch influence) deer, horses, cockatoos, chickens, shrimp, fish, python etc, in fact every pattern used to decorate textiles. Names were also becoming quite common  and sometimes a small cross (kapala mulungu) on the lower arm was regarded as sufficient as a minimal requirement for women.[15] Further west motifs usually took the form of more geometric shapes, although included the "mamuli" ( an omega shaped ornament sometimes worn as an ear pendant and said to represent female genitals) and parts of various animals such as horses tails, Buffalo eyes, etc., these being the exchange items given in bride price payments. Hoskins further mentions that the same patterns were also used on woven goods, Ten Kate confirming this and adding pottery to the list, stating that (in Mamboru?) some patterns used were common to both tattoo and weaving such as a pointed triangle.[16] Certainly the patterns of  Kodi ladies pictured by Hoskins are geometric in appearance with pairs of parallel lines encircling the forearm with attached rounded triangular shapes on top and rows of parallel zigzags over. [17] (these are virtually identical to a pattern collected by Ten Kate in west Sumba , albeit in a condensed version[18]) In Laboya we have some specific information regarding pattern in that the first female tattoo on the thighs consisted of liana and floral motifs or patterns which were inspired by such vegetation as the Cassava creeper found in the cultivated fields. The second tattoo done on the shins was patterned after a buffalo head or body, with the next or calve tattoo comprising a pair of buffalo horns( " kaduna kamadila" - tattoo of the horned one.)[19] Interestingly Geirnaert -Martin refers to the buffalo as the expression of dewa related to prestige incurred by males including that gained by fighting and killing. For male patterns these appeared to differ considerably and Hoskins believed that there was a fair amount of variety in male styles as compared to female, in most parts of the island female tattoo being linked to motifs used to decorate textiles.[20] As far as these patterns go, in Kodi they mainly consisted of simple designs such as  stars or horns in traditional format although increasingly personal names, usually that of the wearer, were coming into fashion.[21] In similar fashion in the Laboya area stars were tattooed on the chest of brave men and their descendants in historic times although latterly tattoo had fallen into disuse among most males and the main remaining patterns were those of personal names tattooed on the arms of the older wealthy.[22] Kruyt again reports that the most common male design was that of the rooster, although he positions one on each breast. In addition Kruyt saw representations of stars, lizards, snakes, birds and human beings, in one case even reporting a Dutch lion which he saw on the back of the hand of one of the Kambera nobility.Ten Kate also shows a rooster pattern from Watupele in East Sumba, which was seen on the right forearm of a young man.[23]

 Motivation All informants agree that female tattoo was generally applied at puberty or as soon as possible after marriage, Hoskins stating that tattoo in Kodi was generally done after marriage  as " a rite of maturity" and, being restricted to those who had proven their ability to reproduce, followed the birth of the first child being " a badge of reproductive success, which also marks the fact that the woman has been fully incorporated into her husbands patrilineage" . The permanence of the tattoo reflecting the permanence of the woman’s inclusion into this patrilineage to which she had already been raised through the sacrifice to his ancestors.  Children were regarded as the ultimate symbol of a woman's position and in addition qualified her to serve as an official representative of her husband's house in transactions such as negotiation of bride price etc., tattoo marks being proof of this position. This more elevated status as producer of descendants for the house is marked by the transference of textile patterns onto her skin .[24]  Similar reasons were advanced for tattoo in Laboya where female tattoo was related to fecundity and the change in status from child to adult, being compared to circumcision among males which served a similar function and additionally demonstrated the differences between the sexes. Girls were tattooed after puberty as a sign that they were able to procreate and were effectively reborn as adults or full members of society, now being regarded as "complete persons with new skins".(Interestingly, in Laboya a girl being tattooed for the first time receives a new cloth from her maternal grandmother) At about this time their emergence as an adult was further marked in that they were now taught how to weave and plant crops. As evidence of continuing fecundity, buffalo patterns were tattooed after the birth of the first child, with additional buffalo pattern tattoo being added after the birth of her second child to show not only her capacity to give birth in her husband's house but also that she has now become part of her husband's "buffalo house". This tattoo indicated that the bearer had increased not only her "dewa" as a fertile woman but also that of her husbands "Uma", and testified her emergence as a new link which in turn represented a new generation in the relationship between "wife givers" and "wife takers" thus constituting a "buffalo house" or "buffalo uma" which formed the basic unit of Laboya society. ("Dewa" was the enduring spiritual component of a person) In a similar context, tattoo also asserted that the girl had inherited the ability to handle the flow of  mawo which is identified as the putrescible component of a person.(literally a shadow)[25] In addition, tattoo served as a form of beauty enhancer and status indicator  and distinguished humans from animals. Men did not seek out women who were not tattooed as their marriage partners and the increase in tattoo following the birth of children elevated the status of the women, those with fully tattooed legs being considered of higher status than others such as newly wed girls who would "show the white lower part of their legs when crossing a river".[26] The badge of tattoo defining married women was the cause of a number of young women in Kodi being tattooed to prevent their rape by Dutch soldiers when they took over the area in 1911. The reasoning being that the soldiers would identify them as married and mothers and leave them alone![27] Due to the fact that certain tattoos in Kodi were only seen by the husband of a woman, these exercised a strong erotic lure and led to emergence of calculated insults by young children who would shout out "your mother has no tattoos on her thighs" implying by this that this was common knowledge and suggesting looseness. Another result of speculation regarding the particular beauty of an individual's tattoo marks led to her being kidnapped by an interested suitor and his eventually marrying her. Hoskin's also suggests that thigh tattoo may contain an element of vanity, by it's very concealment by the customary sarong, hinting at hidden delights to those men who were prevented from seeing them. [28] Forth mentions that, in Rindi, tattooing was done in order that the tattooee be considered as fully adult and no longer a child.[29] Tattoo was however  an individual rather than group activity and concerned the person tattooed and immediate relatives only.[30] Information given to Kruyt from Loura in the north west refers to the belief that before tattoo was introduced the dead were consumed by fire in the afterlife, a belief also met with in Timor, the theory being that tattoo formed a badge of recognition which absolved the wearer from this treatment. However, Kruyt believed this particular belief to be an import from Timor as not only was it usually confined to this area but also referred to arm tattoo and not to the more usual leg tattoo.[31] Kruyt mentions that this belief did not appear to be current anywhere else in Sumba.[32] Needham also came across a similar belief in Mamboru that a woman was tattooed on the thighs in order that when she reached the land of the dead she will be able to use the tattoos to pay for the materials to make her cooking fire.[33] The same reasons were advanced to Forth in Rindi where he was told that it was necessary to buy fire in the land of the dead and that any request from a non tattooed person would be refused, he also mentions a belief, put forward by Kapita but unconfirmed in his area, that even entry into the land of the dead would be refused to the un-tattooed, . These are seen to suggest that tattoo is a preparatory mark for death as well as decoration.[34] In any event the importance of tattoo is underscored by the fact that in Lamboya should a girl die before she can be tattooed then tattoo thorns and the fruit for making the tattoo dye are buried with her. (presumably so that she has the essentials to obtain tattoo in the hereafter and thus either render her capable of recognition or, possibly, so that she can use these to ease her path .) On the subject of male tattoo, Kruyt suggests that this is largely done as a matter of personal choice by the man and was not essential, although Ten Kate proposes that the tattoo marks may be of an amuletic nature, having recorded a rooster tattoo on the right forearm of a young man from Watupele, the rooster playing an important role in the spiritual world of Indonesia as well as being used as a fetish and in oracular rituals in Sumba. [35] Geirnaert Martin, however, introduces another reason for tattoo which links it with warfare and headhunting in where she states that old men of Laboya who had been particularly successful in headhunting in their younger years had the right to tattoo a star "madu" on their chests. This was a sign that they had been feared war leaders or "mori-bani". Male descendants of these warriors were also entitled to tattoo a star on their chests to display their lineage and to wear special cloths with a wide twined border. Such men who displayed the star as a sign of their bravery were known as  "ata pangara" or people of renown and belonged to the "ata ngora" (people of the face) class, one of the highest classes of free men. In addition the "dewa" of these men was considered to be the most powerful.[36]   As discussed previously, the accumulation of dewa is of considerable importance in Laboya society and this factor alone would be as important as the visible sign of martial prowess demonstrated by the tattoo marks displayed by the wearer. Male tattoo was, at least in more modern times, less well integrated into the life cycle than that of women and allowed a greater flexibility in choice.[37]

Time of application Female tattoo was applied following the first menstruation in Laboya, the initial tattoo taking place on the thighs. The next tattoo was performed after the birth of the first child and was applied to the shins, the calves being tattooed following the birth of the second child.[38] (Kruyt confirms this two stage operation but however states that the calves followed nearly a month after the shins.[39]) For the first leg tattoo, when the woman falls pregnant a skilled tattooer is contacted and a date set for a few months after the birth. In some instances in the case of a nubile girl, the first leg tattoo is performed as soon as the girl's father receives the first wedding prestations from the future groom's family, with the rear of the legs being completed after the woman falls pregnant after moving into her husbands home.[40] Should for any reason the tattoo be unsuccessful then the "mowal" (oracle necklace(?)) was consulted to find the reason and, depending on the result of this, one or more "marapoe"(?) offered (sacrificed?) The usual time for tattooing was at the onset of the first major rains of the season.[41] In addition, in Laboya young girls are expected to dress in a particular fashion immediately after receiving their first tattoo.[42] For Kodi, the procedure was different and a young bride could have her forearm tattooed first after conceiving her first child but could not get her calves and thighs tattooed until she had produced several healthy children.[43] In Rindi most people tattooed in their mid teens, but it could not be ascertained whether this was done before or after circumcision or teeth filing or in what order tattoo was performed.[44]  

Practitioners In a general note, Kruyt states that the actual application of tattoo was always done by women, who received gifts for their services, receiving a spear, a knife, a ring, cooked rice and pig or chicken flesh.[45] Older women performed this function in Kodi, in addition usually serving as mid wife’s and herbalists, while in Rindi, anyone who had the skills could tattoo.[46]

Process In Kodi a small ceremonial offering of a chicken was made before being tattooed individually. This being made to the spirit of the maternal village of the person being tattooed i.e the lete binye or "doorway and steps" that she came from, this being to ensure the consent of her ancestors. Tattooing was a painful process, not only because of the thorns creating the puncture marks but from the stinging of the candlenut and ashes which were rubbed into the wounds as the tattooing progressed.[47]

 Dye The dye, which according to Ten Kate was of a blue-black colour , was made from the nut of the fruit of the Kemiri ("kaniri") which was burned and pounded to a fine state, presumably being mixed with water.[48]  This may possibly be the candlenut, as Hoskins mentions that the dye was made from the soot of the candlenut crushed in with a mixture of  ashes.[49]  Soot was mixed in a solution with sugar cane (ashes?) for dye in Rindi, forming a fine mix.[50]  

Tattoo implements Kruyt describes the tattoo implements consisted of the thorn (thorns ?)  of the lemon-dorens bush ("tara moede" ) which were fixed to a handle and then used to beat the pattern in by tapping the head of the handle so as to puncture the skin.[51] In Kodi, where they were known "wu munde"  several lemon thorns were also used as the puncturing instrument in a similar procedure, the same thorns appearing in Rindi.[52] There are no further details on the actual methods used to apply tattoo.  

Summary   From an examination of the above it can be seen that certainly in latter times tattoo was more important in the female rather than the male spheres of life.  It is, however, possible that the restrictions placed on fighting and the banning of head-hunting have in fact altered male tattoo from a significant badge of their martial achievements to that of decorative motif and thus decreased it's importance among males. It is most probable that the usage of tattoo as a symbol of renown extended beyond the Laboya area from where it was reported by Geirnaert to other districts and that it's significance may not have been picked up by earlier observers. After all it is only really in more recent times that any in-depth research has been carried out in this field and that only in limited areas. In basic terms, Geirnaert-Martin states that "circumcision and tattooing stress the differentiation of sex and it's corresponding responsibilities in adult life"[53]  This is a more generalised statement alluding to the preponderance of tattooing among women and it's role in identifying a change in status and should not be taken to assume that  only females tattooed.  In general terms tattoo is linked with the giving of life among females and reinforces not only their own change of status from girl to woman but also their ability to give life themselves and to maintain the cosmic balance of the group in general and their husband's "Uma" in particular. Hoskins provides another clue to the imbedded importance of tattoo in that it was classified together with circumcision in Kodi, both actions being acts of "sharpness" and thus key characteristics of a violent and inauspicious death. [54] This ritualised sharpness by it's intentional imposition of pain on the sufferer, cleanses and purifies them by it's act and allows them to emerge ready to fulfil their prime functions in life, i.e. marrying and giving life to children. As to whether tattoo was a cultural remnant from the original inhabitants, was imported from neighbouring islands or was a local development is virtually impossible to ascertain, although later comparison with other Indonesian groups practising the art may help to throw some light on the situation. Of the three possibilities, it is most unlikely that tattoo is autochthonous and most likely that it came with the ancestors of the present peoples and has possibly since been modified by exposure to other cultural elements impacting on the island over the centuries. Certainly the type of tattoo tool used, the dye mixture and certain of the reasons given for tattoo have their parallels in neighbouring tattooing cultures and indicate connections or influences forming a common bond throughout the area.

Bibliography:

Forth G.                                   Rindi                                                                        Hague 1981

Geirnaert Martin D.                  "The woven land of Laboya "    Leiden1992                                                                              

Hoskins J.                                "Arts and cultures of Sumba " in " Islands and

                                                ancestors" edited D.Newton, J.P.Barbier.                              Prestel 1988

Hoskins J.                                Why do ladies sing the blues?  In  "Cloth and

                                                human experience ed Weiner A.                            Washington 1990  

Hoskins J.                                Play of Time                                                             1993  

Kruyt A.C.                                               "Verslag van een reis over het eiland Soemba      TKNAG  No 4  Vol 38 1921      

Needham R.                             Mamboru                                                                 Oxford 1987  

Rodgers S.                              Power and Gold                                                      Munich 1990  

Ten Kate H.                             Beitrage zur ethnographie der Timorgruppe.          IAE vol  7 1894

Ten Kate H.                             Verslag eener Reis in de Timorgroep.                    TKNAG Vol 11 1894a                                                             


[1]  Rodgers 1990:168, Hoskins 1988:general

[2]  Kruyt 1921:, Ten Kate 1894:245

[3]  Kruyt 1921:

[4]  Geirnaert Martin 1992:185

[5]  Needham personal letter 3/3/1995. Hoskins:various

[6]  Needham 1987:32

[7]  Ten Kate 1894:245. Ten Kate 1894a:578.Kruyt 1921:, Geirnaert Martin 1992:428

[8] 

[9]  Hoskins 1988:130, fig 139. Kruyt 1921:544

[10]  Ten Kate 1894a:546

[11]  Forth 1981:165

[12]  Needham 1987:31

[13]  Ten Kate 1894a

[14]   Needham 1987:31

[15]  Forth 1981 165

[16]  Ten Kate 1894a:625 Hoskins 1990:162. 1988:130

[17]  Hoskins 1988:130. Hoskins 1990:162 Hoskins 1993:personal letter. Hoskins 1993:31 Ten Kate 1894:245:

[18]  Ten Kate 1894 : TafXX No 25

[19]  Geirnaert Martin 1992:185

[20]  Hoskins 1993: personal letter.

[21]  Hoskins 1993: personal letter

[22]  Geirnaert Martin 1992:187

[23]  Ten Kate 1894: TafXX No 24

[24]  Kruyt 1921: Hoskins 1988:130 Hoskins 1990 :162

[25]   Geirnaert Martin 1992:265

[26]   Geirnaert Martin 1992:185

[27]   Hoskins 1990:163

[28]   Hoskins 1990 ;163

[29]   Forth 1981:163

[30]   Geirnaert Martin 1992:121,187,232,233,262,263.

[31]   Kruyt 1921: 545

[32]   Kruyt 1921: 544

[33]   Needham personal letter 3/3/1995

[34]    Forth 1981:165

[35]  Ten Kate  1894:245

[36]  Geirnaert Martin 1992:156,187,195

[37]  Hoskins 1993:personal letter.

[38]  Geirnaert Martin 1992:185

[39]  Kruyt 1921:544

[40]  Geirnaert Martin 1992:185

[41]  Kruyt 1921:

[42]  Geirnaert Martin 1992 :341

[43]  Hoskins 1990:162

[44]  Forth 1981: 165

[45]  Kruyt 1921:

[46]  Hoskins 1990:162 Forth 1981:165

[47]  Hoskins 1990 :162

[48]   Ten Kate 1894:245

[49]  Hoskins 1993:personal letter

[50]  Forth 1981:165

[51]   Kruyt 1921:

[52]   Hoskins 1993: personal letter, Forth 1981:165

[53]   Geirnaert Martin 1992:121

[54]  Hoskins 1990:163

 

"Tattoo" RIWAYATMU

Kapan dan bagaimana seni rajah tubuh atau tato mulai dikenal manusia? Tidak ada yang tahu pasti. Namun bila merujuk pada temuan seni rajah tubuh yang ditemukan di Piramid, Mesir, orang bisa berpendapat, tato pertama kali digunakan orang-orang Mesir kuno. Konon, dari Mesir, seni tato menyebar dan berkembang ke negara lain.

Namun, bila merujuk pada tradisi suku Dayak di pedalaman Kalimantan, suku Mentawai, atau Irian Jaya, orang bisa menyebut, tato berasal dari Indonesia. Bahkan, Eko-seniman tato di Kafe Kupu-Kupu dan anggota Java Tattoo Club, sebuah komunitas seniman dan penggemar tato pimpinan Sapto Rahardjo dan berpusat di Yogyakarta- berpendapat, tato berasal dari Indonesia. "Kami punya buku yang membuktikan itu," katanya tanpa menyebut judul bukunya.

Mungkin yang bisa dirujuk adalah catatan Joseph Banks, ketika kapalnya merapat di Tahiti, 11 April 1769. Di sana, Banks mendokumentasikan tatau (bahasa Tahiti - Red), yang memenuhi tubuh penduduk asli. Sejak itu, tato mulai dikenal meluas sampai Eropa.

Tattoo (bahasa Inggeris, artinya menandai sesuatu) adalah seni rajah tubuh dengan cara menusuk dan menggores dengan jarum khusus, yang sudah diberi tinta. Semula tato identik dengan organized crime, organisasi kriminal dan dunia preman. Namun, lama kelamaan, seni tato berkembang, tak lagi merupakan identitas para penjahat. Orang baek-baek pun, ikut merajah tubuh. Entah untuk mode, sekadar gaya atau kebanggaan semu.

 

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