Tattooing in Tribal Asia

The images below show a variety of Henna tattooing on the hands of women in different asian tribes. Henna was used to decorate the hands and body and is a temporary design on the skin, that is believed to promote health and fertility. Henna tattoos are also closely related with weddings and religious festivals. 

 This image shows the ancient way of applying tattoos on the skin. A sharpened bamboo stick was used to inject plant extract dyes under the skin.

The image below shows a buddhist symbol of eternity. The endless knots can be designed in many different ways but the lines do not have a start or a finish and are never ending. I think that this piece of information is very useful as during my designs I need to ensure that I use drawings that are not offensive to the tribe or religion that the tribe worships. 

Another tattooed man, this time from the Iban tribe. The tattoos would be earned by the men by 'carrying out a successful headhunt'.