Several Mentawai shamans stated that their ancestors would only be able to recognize them in the afterlife because of their tattooing. Other sikerei reported that their spirit guides would not recognize them without a full complement of body tattooing. Some men wear crucifix-like crab tattoos on their forearms. Crabs are invoked by Mentawai shamans during healing and other rites because they are believed to live forever; they can discard their old exoskeletons and obtain new ones, or regenerate severed limbs.
The Mentawai of Butui are able to discern which community a man or woman is from on Siberut depending on the subtle variations of their body marks.
For example, the stripes on the upper thighs of men represent the veins and trunk of the sago; long, dotted lines running down the arms symbolize the prickly fronds of its branches; patterns on the hands and ankles may mirror the bark or roots; and the curved lines on the chest represent the sago flower. Some Mentawai elders have said that the Tree of Life must be tattooed on every shaman, because there can be no death when one is part of a tree of life.
The Mentawai of Butui told me that their tattoos do not necessarily depict the Tree of Life. For example, the barbed tattoos running down their arms represent the thorny fronds of the rattan palm.
Rosettes tattooed on the shoulders of men and women symbolize the power of the tattoo to make evil bounce off their bodies like raindrops from a flower.
And the intricate bead tattoos that appear on the chest, wrists, and back of the hands symbolically tie in the soul and keep it close to the body. But the shamans of Butui are concerned about the future of the Mentawai tattoo. He is not fully tattooed because no one in his community can properly tattoo him. Moreover, he cannot find apprentices who have the talent or patience to learn the traditional tattooing techniques from him.
Aman Bereta is also worried about the increasing numbers of untattooed shamans. A tattooed body is rich and keeps the spirit close. But for the unmarked shamans living here, that is a different story. Their spirits are far from them because they have no tattoos. I asked a few younger, unmarked Mentawai shamans why they were not tattooed. Some noted that a full body suit was too expensive, costing one medium-sized pig, several sago or coconut palm trees, and many chickens.
Others complained that it was too painful or might negatively affect their chances to find work in coastal settlements. After all, Indonesia is an Islamic country, and tattooing is largely taboo there because of its associations with religious impurity and criminality. And they want a modern lifestyle, too. So they are leaving our tattoos behind. Unlike tattoo practitioners in Thailand and Siberut, most of the indigenous tattooers living on the island of Borneo are female, including those of the Kayan and Kenyah people.
But these artisans have not practiced in decades; missionaries compelled them to discard these cultural practices in the s. Nevertheless, several tattooed female elders recounted their experiences and described the elaborate ceremonial attached to this ancient tradition. Before tattooing among the Kayan was eliminated, women believed that tattoo designs acted as torches after death, leading them through the darkness of the afterlife to the longhouses of their beloved ancestors.
Kayan and Kenyah tattooing was largely female-centric, although male warriors were tattooed, and the process was a long and painful one, sometimes lasting as much as four years. Only small patches of skin could be tattooed in one sitting, and several long intervals elapsed between the various stages of work. Several elders also explained the implications of flowing blood. A Kayan girl received her first tattoos when she was about ten years old.
Her fingers and the upper part of her feet were tattooed first, and then about a year later her forearms were tattooed. The thighs were partially tattooed during the next year, and in her third or fourth year, all the tattooing was completed. Most Kayan tattooists were restricted by social taboos. Tattooists were also forbidden from eating certain foods like raw and bloody meat or fish, because evil spirits might enter the food and possess the artist.
It was believed that if an artist disregarded any of these prohibitions, the designs that she tattooed would not appear clearly, and she herself would sicken and die. Sometimes women became tattoo artists in order to become cured of particular illnesses, since the tutelary spirits of tattoo artists protected them from disease-bearing spirits. The prayer announced to the spirit the particular design that was to be applied and asked for the client to feel little pain and the tattooist to make beautiful designs.
Upon arrival, officers located a man suffering from a gunshot wound and secured the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital by Hamilton County EMS with a non-life threatening injury. His Facebook posts, which partly gave rise to the reprimand, trivialize the suffering of the victims of crime that come before his Court. The posts also mock criminal defendants, who are innocent until proven guilty.
Regardless of what crimes In Chattanooga, the County Commission Sunday, November 14, Matthew Smith is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who writes new melodies to centuries-old hymn texts, helping guide people into emotionally honest worship, according to his website. He is a founding member of the Indelible Grace community, whose work has drawn acclaim across denominational lines and is used in churches around the world.
As these students began to taste more of the depth of the gospel and the richness of the hymn tradition, many began to join the music of their culture with the words of our forefathers, and a movement was born, according to a press release.
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