Red and black were both colors of war and victory. (2) Algonquin traditional war paint used red, black and white geometric designs with vivid effect. The painted hand across the chief’s mouth signified his success in hand-to-hand combat. Red was a favored color of the Iowa and many Plains Indians. In today’s world, they have become a way to express beliefs, memories and the phase one is going through in life.PHOTOS: (1) Early frontier illustrator George Catlin’s portrait of The White Cloud, head chief of the Iowa tribe (1845) National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. A blend of creativity and fashion, tattoos are no longer just about identity and territory. Over the ages, Indian body art has undergone a great transformation – from tattooing for beauty and tradition to tattooing for fashion and beliefs. An alumnus of NIFT-Hyderabad, Mo Naga is a self-taught tattoo artist who takes his inspiration from Naga culture, as reflected in tribal costumes, folk tales, paintings, wood carvings, etc. My effort is to tell the stories of our forefathers through art and design,” says Mo Naga, who believes that a thorough study of the traditional tattoo patterns can reveal priceless pieces of history. “I am not trying to bring back the old beliefs and lifestyle. He is using modern machines and techniques of tattooing to revive the traditional designs of the tribes of the northeast. Nagaland’s Mo Naga wants to create modern patterns emerging out of the traditional designs and has founded the Headhunters’ Ink Tattoo School at Guwahati. Photo Source Abhinandan Basu, whose tattoos are rooted in Bengali folk art, is known for his special customised body art, which is called ‘Bongo’ – inspired by the Bengali folk art form ‘Patachitra’ (scroll painting) and the works of legends like Jamini Roy. He loves doing tattoos inspired by the Sikh religion and is an internationally acclaimed portrait tattoo artist. An award winning tattoo artist, Manjeet Singh’s speciality are his incredibly photorealistic designs. In 2015, three Indians – Nagaland’s Mo Naga, Kolkata’s Abhinandan “Obi” Basu and Delhi’s Manjeet Singh – were featured in the World Atlas of Tattoo, a list of 100 notable tattoo artists from around the globe published by Yale University Press.
Memorial tattoos, which commemorate the death of a dear one or a much-loved pet, spiritual tattoos, and tattoos with the name of the significant other, are hugely popular too. Tribal adaptation of popular designs like the dragon and tiger and abstract art are gaining popularity among the youth. While body art has been practised for centuries in many Indian communities, it’s only over the past few decades that tattoos have become a fashion statement among urban Indian youth. Denied entry to temples and forced to use separate wells, the Ramnamis first tattooed their bodies and faces more than 100 years ago with these words, which are as much a demonstration of devotion as a talisman against persecution. In recent history, Chhattisgarh’s Ramnamis fought caste discrimination with full-bodied ‘Ram Ram‘ tattoos, a message to their persecutors that God is everywhere, regardless of a person’s caste or social standing. The primary focus of mehndi in India has always been on the women of the house and it is traditionally used for celebrations and rites of passage. The temporary tattoo art of mehndi also has a deep rooted cultural connect with India, with the use of mehndi and turmeric being described in the earliest Vedic ritual books.