Tai Neua Tattoo

Tattoo was used to be considered as a fashion in the past of Tai Neua society.

When I was a child, sometimes I saw some elders having tattoo on their entire body. I saw it when they naked and took a bath.

Some of them had tattoo on their body such as arms, legs, chest, even their head. I wondered why they had it.

However, I still remember some of tattoos looked like an art or some of them were scripts (To Tham).

In fact, I also have tattoo. But it is only small tattoo on my leg.  I’ve got tattoo since I was a novice.

At that time, there was no modern equipment like these days. They used pins and bamboo (making like jobstick) and tied them together and put in the black ink and stuck on the skin.It was every paintful.

I wondered why they are able to get tattoo their entire body. But some told me that before that they smoke a lot of opium utill they did not feel painful. That's why some of elders in the past addicted opium and could not stop it.

You might ask me why I did. Because some months said if you had some tattoos, you would have a power which it is able to protect you from guns and swords for instance. Yes, I did that because I wanted a power.

However, when I grew up, I had a chance to learn and get more information and I understood why they had tattoo.

They told me the truth that some of them had tattoos because of girls. If they didn’t have tattoo at that time, they would say ‘Khouay Don’ (white buffalo which is an expression that you are weak). Therefore, men have to have tattoo.

And as said earlier, some have tattoo because they wanted a power. Those types of people are likely solders, fighters for instance.

To sum up, in the past, Tai Neua elders had tattoo because of beauty; and moreover they wanted to get more power.

So what do you know about Tai Neua Tattoo?