Tatu: what it is, history and why we like it so much.

Tattoo: what do we need to know?

What the tattoo? It can be defined as art, the practice of decorating the body with images, drawings, symbols, colored or not, and not necessarily full of meaning.

despite, tattoo techniques have changed over the centuries, its basic concept has remained unchanged over time.

Modern Western tattooing is performed using machines that allow ink to be injected into the skin through a special needle, which, moving up and down, is able to penetrate about a millimeter under the epidermis.

There are different needles in between them in width, depending on their use; in fact, each needle has a specific application for nuance, contouring or blending.

The device used for modern tattoos performs two basic operations repeatedly:

• The amount of ink in the needle
• Ink discharge inside the skin (under the epidermis)

During these stages, the frequency of movement of the tattoo needle can range from 50 to 3000 times per minute.

History of Tattoos

When choosing a tattoo, have you ever wondered what its true origin is?

Today, tattoos are increasingly used as a means of self-expression on the body.

Despite this, it is still possible to find those who turn their noses in front of them due to lack of information or prejudice about the true meaning of this art.

In fact, a tattoo is a real way to communicate, to experience something significant and indelible, to identify yourself as belonging to a group, religion, creed, but also a way to just be more aesthetically pleasing or just follow a trend.

The word tattoo first appears around the mid-700s after the discovery of the island of Tahiti by English captain James Cook. The population of this place previously pointed to the practice of tattooing with the Polynesian word "tau-tau", transformed in letters into "Tattoou", adapting it to the English language. In addition, there is no doubt that the practice of tattooing has a much older origin, up to 5.000 years ago.

Some historical stages:

• In 1991, he was found in an alpine region between Italy and Austria. Similaun's mummy dates back to 5.300 years ago. He had tattoos on his body, which were then X-rayed, and it turned out that the incisions were probably made for healing purposes, as bone degeneration could be observed in exactly the same places as the tattoos.
• withinAncient Egypt The dancers had designs similar to tattoos, as seen in some mummies and paintings found in 2.000 BC.
• Il Celtic people he practiced the worship of animal deities and, as a sign of devotion, painted the same deities in the form of tattoos on his body.
• Vision Roman people historically, this has been the hallmark of tattoos only for criminals and sinners. It was only later, after coming into contact with the British population who used tattoos on their bodies in battle, that they decided to adopt them in their culture.
• The Christian faith used the practice of putting religious symbols on the forehead as a sign of devotion. Later, during the historical period of the Crusades, the soldiers also decided to get tattoos there. Jerusalem crossto be recognized in the event of death in battle.

Meaning of tattoo

Throughout history, the practice of tattoos has always had a pronounced symbolic connotation. Associated suffering, an integral and necessary part, has always distinguished the western perspective from the eastern, African and oceanic ones.

In fact, in Western techniques, pain is minimized, while in other cultures mentioned, it acquires an important meaning and value: pain brings a person closer to the experience of death, and, by resisting it, he is able to expel it.

In ancient times, everyone who decided to get a tattoo experienced this experience as a ritual, test or initiation.

It is believed, for example, that prehistoric tattoos by sorcerers, shamans or priests were performed precisely in delicate places where pain was felt, such as the back or arms.

Along with pain, there is also symbolism associated with bleeding during practice.

Flowing blood symbolizes life, and therefore the shedding of blood, even if limited and insignificant, simulates the experience of death.

Various techniques and cultures

Since ancient times, the techniques used for tattoos have varied and had different characteristics depending on the culture in which they were practiced. The cultural dimension is what fundamentally contributed to the differentiation of techniques, since, as mentioned above, the change lies in the experience and value that is attributed to the pain associated with the practice. Let's look at them specifically:

• Ocean Techniques: in areas such as Polynesia and New Zealand, a rake-shaped tool with sharp bone teeth at the end was used to penetrate the inside of the skin obtained by pulling and processing coconut walnuts.
• Ancient Inuit Technique: Needles made from bones were used by the Inuit to make cinchona thread, covered with soot thread that can give off color and penetrate the skin in an artisanal way.
• Japanese technique: It is called tebori and consists of tattooing the hands with needles (titanium or steel). They are attached to the end of a bamboo stick that moves back and forth like a brush, piercing the skin obliquely, but quite painfully. During the practice, the tattooist keeps the skin taut in order to be able to properly support the skin while passing the needles. Once, needles were not removable and sterilizable, but today it is possible to improve hygiene and safety conditions. The result that can be obtained with this technique differs from the classic machine because it is capable of producing different shades of color, even if it takes longer. This technique is still practiced in Japan today, especially with black pigments (sumi) combined with American (western). 
• Samoan technique: it is a very painful ritual device, often accompanied by ceremonies and chants. This is done as follows: the performer uses two instruments, one of which is like a bone comb with a handle containing 3 to 20 needles, and the other is a stick-like instrument used to strike it.

The first is impregnated with the pigment obtained from the processing of plants, water and oil, and pushed with a stick to pierce the skin. Obviously, throughout the entire execution, the skin must remain taut for optimal practice success.

• Thai or Cambodian technique: has very ancient and very important roots in this culture. In the local language it is called “Sak Yant” or “sacred tattoo”, which means a deep meaning that goes far beyond a simple pattern on the skin. A Thai tattoo is done using the bamboo technique. in this way: a sharpened stick (sak mai) is dipped in ink and then tapped on the skin to create a drawing. This technique has a rather subjectively perceived pain, which also depends on the area chosen.
• Western (American) technique: This is by far the most innovative and modern technique mentioned, which uses an electric needle machine driven by electromagnetic coils or a single rotating coil. This is the least painful technique currently in use, the modern evolution of Thomas Edison's 1876 electric pen. The first patent for an electric machine capable of tattooing was obtained by Samuel O'Reilly in 1891 in the United States, which was aptly inspired by Edison's invention. However, O'Reilly's idea did not last long because of the rotational motion alone. Shortly thereafter, Englishman Thomas Riley invented the same tattoo machine using electromagnets, which revolutionized the tattooing world. This latter tool was then improved and implemented over time to optimize its technical performance, up to the most up-to-date and currently used version.