TATUAGGIO. – From the Polynesian word tatu of Tahiti, t. belongs to the category of artificial deformations (of the nose, ear, neck, etc.) practiced among primitive peoples.
More particularly, t. consists in permanently drawing on the skin of the head, trunk, or limbs various symbolic or ornamental figures, either by incising the skin and then allowing the cut to heal (scarification), or by producing elevations of the skin (keloids). At times the design is executed by means of a stamp (pintadera).
T. is widespread almost everywhere, especially in Africa and Oceania; it is also found among the peoples of northern Asia and India. It may, however, also have a devotional character, as a permanent reminder of a visit to a famous sanctuary. It is also practiced by criminals to express their particular passions, aspirations, and superstitions.
The use of t. was also known in antiquity. Herodotus (V, 6) documents it among the Thracians, Pomponius Mela (II, 1, 10) among the Agathyrsi of European Sarmatia, and Pliny the Elder among the Dacians. The origin of t. is religious; it is in fact practiced in the initiation ceremonies of young people as a mark of their incorporation into the tribe’s adult social and sexual life; it is also a tribal mark when it reproduces the totemic emblem of the animal protecting the clan; it may express the special condition in which a person finds himself; e.g., among the Eskimos, a stripe from the lower lip to the chin signifies that a girl is unmarried; two or more signify that she is married. Finally, it may be used as a simple ornament. – Vedi tav. CXXIX.