subject: What Do You Actually Know About Body Piercing And Tattoos [print this page] Both tattoos and piercing have been practiced in various civilizations for hundreds of years. A tattoo is almost a branding, in that the tattoo artist produces a drawing on your skin by using needles and ink. Once you have had a tattoo it's virtually impossible to remove, just like being branded.
Body piercing is where the person has a part of their body, often the ears or the nose, but it can be other areas of the body, pierced, and a ring or decorative jewel fitted through the hole. In ancient times it was often rich people who had tattoos in order to display their wealth or a symbol of beauty.
People in ancient Egypt used to have their ears pierced with something known as gauge plugs. This practice was usually only followed by the Egyptian Royal family, and they would have their navels pierced as well as their ears. Rich Egyptians displayed both their wealth and their beauty by having their earrings made in the form of lotus flowers.
Even in the time of the Bible body piercing, it was quite common once the Romans came because they pierced many parts of the body, particularly male nipples as this was a sign of virility. In order to prevent serious injury, Roman gladiators would have their penis pierced with a ring; ties were slotted through the ring to hold back the genitals during a tournament. Gladiators were also slaves and the piercing was designed to stop them having sex without the permission of their owners.
As part of their ancient religious rituals, both the American native Indians and also the Aztec Indians, had their tongues pierced. Body piercing and tattoos have been used throughout history by communities all over the world. Tattoos also date back to the time of the ancient Egyptians where tattoos were used as a decoration and slave owners used them as a means of identifying their slaves.
The word tattoo is believed to derive from the old Tahitian term of "Tatau", which means to make a mark on something. Over the years tattoos have been used in different contexts to beautify or identify something, for instance, a woman's particular skills. In many societies a woman was regarded as excellent material for marriage if she had a tattoo on her forearm relating to her various skills.
In some cultures tattoos were, and still are, used on the hands and fingers as both a means of decoration and a way of warding off evil spirits. Tattoos have been used, and some cultures still are used to signify a person's membership of a particular group, clan or even a gang.
Both body piercing and tattoos have been used in many cultures for hundreds of years as either a sign of wealth or beauty, as a brand of ownership, and as a mark of belonging. Nowadays people will endure the painful pleasure of having their ears, navels or other body parts pierced to express their beliefs or to beautify a particular area of their body.
Many people who have body piercings or tattoos, see them as a mark of belonging to a particular social group or as a signal of remembrance. Some people will have both tattoos and piercings, simply because they like to look different from the rest of the crowd. Tattoos and piercings are enjoying a boost in popularity and so they are here to stay for a long time.
