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Borneo Tattoo designs

On the last posts i have shown you the Mentawai tribe Tattoo as the world’s oldest Tattoos.   And now I’ll show another tattoo culture in Borneo Indonesia.

Borneo is the third largest island in the world. The Dayak people reside here for centuries, they believe that spirits are in everything around them. For this reason they believe that by tattooing an object or creature on them they can draw energy from these spirits. In the Dayak culture, tattoo shows the status of one’s wealth. More tattooed, more rich. The sachem of Dayak Taman(the indigenous people of Borneo), said, in the Dayak tattoo there other aspects than the symbol of the social strata, the tattoo is a tribute to the ancestral.

Dayak Tattoos

Modern Tattoo Designs Inspired by Borneo Tattoos

An example is the tradition of tattooing in both culture “Dayak Iban” and “Dayak Kayan”. In the second tribe, tattooing was believed to be a symbol and a means to express the natural rulers. Tattoos are also believed to ward off evil spirits, and cast out the spirit of death or illness. Tattoos as a form of expression to God associated with Dayak cosmology. For the Dayak community, nature was divided into three: top, middle, and bottom. Symbols representing the cosmos  visible on the motifs of  hornbills, moon, and sun. Middle world, human life, symbolized by the tree of life. Meanwhile, the dragon motif showing the underworld.

In Dayak culture, tattoos are not only apply by men but also in women. Until now, they think of tattoos as a symbol of art and dignity. Although Dayak doesn’t recognize caste, “Tedak Kayaan” aka women were tattooed, considered lesser compared to the tattooed. There are three common types of tattoos used Kayan Dayak women. Among other “Tedak Kassa”, which covers the whole foot and used as an adult. Another is “Tedak Usuu” throughout the hand, and “Tedak Hapii” in the thigh.

According  rumor, so that children who don’t move tattooed, big dimples placed over his body. If the child is crying, crying accompanied by the strains of a special tone(Source, Adi Rosa).

Dayak Tribal Tattoo

Tribal Tattoos

Tribal Tattoo Design of Borneo Inspired by Iban

Borneo Tribal Tattoo Designs Idea