Traditional Tattoo

RESEARCH OF TRADITIONAL TATTOO 2007

As a result me being keen on research and learning I published my tattoo books. In 2005 I released Turkey’s first book telling about professional tattooing and tattooists in Turkey through ‘Günışığı Publishing Anabasis’. After having written this book I felt a lack in terms of knowledge about traditional tattooing and its history in Turkey. I planned to write another book about this and even possibly record a documentary. Within the plan to the field scanning on my own, I travelled the entire south east region in 2007. With the energy of having dealt with photography, I also recorded some voice tapes and thus did my researches about traditional tattoos and published some articles as the first person in Turkey. I haven’t had the chance to publish this book yet. Thus I guided the Traditional tattoo documentary in August 2011 recorded by the famous German director of the TV channel SWR (Südwestfunk) Wiltrud Kremer and the cameraman Oliver Staub. Supervisor of this project ‘Die Kinder der Sonne (The children of the sun)’ has been Yılmaz Akıncı, Turkey pressman of the Arabic TV channel Al Jazeera TV. The team took Fatih Serdaroğlu’s researches as a basis and went the people I photographed and filmed them. During the recordings of the documentary about traditional tattooing, Fatih Serdaroğlu got a tattoo done by one of the last traditional tattooists in Harran, on his foot. The documentary was broadcasted not only in Germany but also throughout a lot of European Countries and documentary channels.

The pictures I shoot in south east Turkey were used as a basis to other traditional tattoos. These shapes were used in shoe designing and were awarded to some prizes I will mention later. At the bottom of the page you can view some pictures of those shoes and some traditional tattoos as well.

Vouge&Muuse Young Accessories Talent 2014-Semi-Finalist (574 Votes)

DETAIL leather Design Competition (10 December 2013) Footwear Design Winner

İstanbul Leather Fatir/DTD-young designer (21-23 November 2013) exhibitor

WHAT IS TRADITIONAL TATTOO?

Traditional Tattoo is everything embroidered under the skin without the help of any technologic devises, with the content of mythologic figures, traditional symbols, signs, mixed with lore. Depending on the material being used we can differentiate ‘early tattooing’.

TRADITIONAL TATTOO IN THE WORLD   

The Japanese apply traditional tattooing under the name yakuza using the irezumi technique. Within this technique a 30cm long piece of the bamboo stem is used to apply the tattoo. Needles are placed on the top end of the bamboo depending of shape and size of the tattoo. The piece with the needles is dunked into paint and stacked under the skin. The style of the tattoos applied on the Islands of Oceania all almost similar. The only thing that changes are the figures and their meanings. Different from that in the Far Eastern regions they use a hammer or a piece of wood to push the needles under the skin instead of using their bare hands. Even if it is said that these tattoos fade away, they are not as sunk into oblivion as they are in Turkey. A lot of tattooist around the world were professional tattooing is applied, people also apply forms of traditional tattooing to keep their culture alive. Besides there is also the hidden ‘missionary’ aim where the own culture is mirrored secretly to other people.

‘TRADITIONAL TATTOO’ FROM THE PAST TO TODAY

As it is in the whole world also in Anatolia there has been the language of illustration on the skin long before wring appeared: tattooing!

Today, people believe that being modern means to leave one’s cultures and traditions behind. Rather than that, modernism means mixing traditions and new to invent on terms of science and art. Traditional tattoo is a cultural factor of Turkey. Statements such as ‘tattoos at found by the Japanese or the English’ occur only out of unknowing of one’s own history and traditions and because those living the tattoo culture remaining silent and not presenting themselves. Researches about traditional tattooing are mostly academic thesis researches. The contribution of the English salesmen to expand the tattoo together with the invention of the tattoo machine is high. With the invention of the tattoo machine in 1891, and the beginning of the sea travels of the English in the 1900 there has been a major expand of tattooing around the world. Thus, if we do deeper traditional research, we can find out that almost every culture differing in technique and style there has always been a way of body art from the beginning of humankind. Throughout history, many different empires were built up and then replaced by others, many different people and cultures have lived here, though all of them left a kind of tattooing culture. Before the Islam on the Arabic peninsula slaves were marked with tattoos and branding. During the Ottoman empire in one-point tattoo was used to mark janissaries guilts. This culture came to an end by them being closed. Turkey has its own style in traditional tattooing, but it shows similarities with Syrian, Iraqi and other nearby countries as there has been several wars, drifts and trade relationships between these countries.

Within Turkey Traditional Tattoo appears mainly within Turkmenien, Arabic, Kurdish and Nomad folks, around Adana, Adıyaman, Ağrı, Batman, Çankırı, Yozgat, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Konya, Niğde, Nevşehir, Mardin, Mersin, Şanlıurfa and Van at women and men over 50. Mesopotamia is the region (between the rivers Fırat and Dicle) has the most intense illustrations of traditional tattoos. Based on my researches, besides Turkey’s South East Anatolian region, I found out that based on different folkloric issues traditional tattoo occurs also in Central Anatolia, East Anatolia and the Mediterranean regions of Turkey.

Around Gaziantep within the Barak area, Nomad called the Gurbet, the Karaçis a gypsy folk living in Siverek and Kısas, Şanlıurfa, the Sazmantus, Nomads living in Mardin, Midyat area, are applicants of traditional tattoo. This information leads to the point that traditional tattoo is applied and transmitted mainly by Nomad folks. This is also leading to figurative similarities. They are people travelling around playing musical instruments, singing songs, entertain people and earn some money by tattooing them. Instead of taking money they mostly do exchange trading and take some food.

At the beginning every single figure embroidered under the skin had a meaning. Sometimes it represented the bound to a folk, sometimes they represented thoughts and sometimes as prayer or evil eye defender for good luck. After a long time, the original aim faded and faded, and the visual aspect outweighed; it turned into accessorise and beauty. That’s why it can be seen mainly on women. As most of the people with traditional tattoo are women and over 50, it can be clearly foreseen that with every person leaving to eternity, the traditional tattooing era will also be buried step by step under the earth. The only way, traditional tattooing can be kept alive is when we mix traditional tattooing with today’s modern art of tattooing. Hülya Avşar was widely discussed when she got a traditional tattoo on her chin. As I want to keep traditional tattooing alive in our country, I supported her although strange choice. That’s a reason why I got tattooed an aegicrane figure on my leg tattooed by my wife Elif Göktaş. This figure can be seen on traditional Turkish carpets.

WHERE ARE TRADITIONAL TATTOOS POSITIONED IN TURKEY AND WHAT MEANING DO THEY CARRY?

The signs tattooed in the South East of Turkey carry similarities. Thus, either the applying person dislocated the tattoo, or interpreted the tattoo in a different way arose different meanings into the tattoos. In order to be able to interpret the ‘giving a message’ meaning correctly within history, you need to take their location on the body under consideration. The traditional tattoo being a ritual from the past to now represents the voice of unspoken words between a father and his nubile daughter, a mother in law and her daughter in law, a fresh groom and his wife, screamed out through the pain on the body. The signs represented words which couldn’t be spoken out, as tattoos lifelong signs on feet, temporals, chin, lips, or on hands. Throughout our researches we could only get more information about tattoos situated on more visible areas, such as feet, face or hands. Some of their meanings are singleness, the wish to marry, protection from evil souls, diseases or death, owning strength or protection from the evil eye and abundance… . Although our researches are based on scientific and artistic aims, it is almost impossible to get information about tattoos on genital areas. Making researches about these tattoos or documenting them in any way is impossible according to the elder people’s social order and strict bond to their privacy, and cultures. But this problem arises also another curiosity about all these tattoos. We can only reach information about meaning and style, why and were the tattoos were made, through people we see and can talk to.

Some example of people carrying traditional tattoos in Turkey…

Sefer Acet, Fatma Acet…

In the village of Kısas, Şanlıurfa, we saw Sefer Acet 82, and Fatma Acet 72, sitting on the stairs of their house entrances at early hours. While I was photographing their tattoos, he said: ‘take a picture of me and my maid, but I want a picture…’ and took his arm around his wife posing for the photo. Uncle Sefer also told us that he and aunt Fatma saw each other’s tattoos and married then. Furthermore, his tattoos caused troubles during the time of his military duty until he convinced his commander that the tattoos are traditional in Kısas.

Zeliha Güleç, Elif Güleç…

In Kısas, Şanlıurfa we reach the place in front of the bakery where young women roll bread dough and older women look after their grandchildren. Right at the entrance, two tattooed women sitting opposite to each other. Zeliha Güleç and Elif Güleç. Zeliha Güleç’s visible tattoos reach from their right hand to her elbow, and on her left-hand fingers in form of small dots. They laugh and tell me that ‘granny has them on her breasts.’ When I asked why she carried tattoos up to her breasts they just reply: ‘people nowadays forget about tattooing, ‘back in the days we used them as accessorise as there were no cheap real accessories, so we used tattoos’. ‘We can make some for you, too’

Aşir Cimtay…

Aşir Cimtay was born in 1932 told us proudly that he gave the gipsies making the tattoo for him more food so that he got even his name tattooed.

Gazel Akçen…

Gazel Akçen 50 years old, born in Harran, Şanlıurfa with Kurdish origin carries traditional tattoos on the right hand and on the chin. Within Harran traditional tattoo is called ‘dek’ or ‘dak’^.

Women and traditional tattoos in the south-eastern area

Women in this area generally wear the tattoos on their right foot up to their knees, what is documented through photography. We haven’t met anybody wearing tattoos on the left foot. Were as on the right hand is possible. Women carry tattoos on their breasts, belly and genitals in order to raise fertility. Especially women with fair skin colour are regarded to carry the tattoos more beautiful. There is a common opinion, that tattoos look better on women with fair skin colour. During my field scanning I came across statements such as: ‘I wanted to look as beautiful as women with fair skin:’ or

In one of Harran’s historic houses, were people trade with traditional cloths, I came across a young, 18 years old Kurdish woman. When I asked her about her mother having traditional tattoos, she answered: ‘My mom hasn’t got any, but my granny has. But she would never get photographed. We belong to the new age young; we don’t have them anymore.’ These words should be enough evidence to show what the young people think about traditional tattooing. Thus from 2007, when I did my research, up to the present, a lot has changed. Now every third young person is tattooed.

South Eastern men and tattoos.

Right hands, temporals and on the tip of the noses in form of dots. On the feet they can be seen quite rarely. In order to get a male child tattoos are applied on the back.

Traditional tattoo is not the same as ethnic tattoo!

Turkmen, Kurdish and Arabic civilisations have similar roots in traditional tattooing style and figures. There is no typical style within the Turkish borderlines. IN order to be called Ethnic tattoo there must have been one single civilisation using a special patter of tattoo. That’s why we cannot speak about ‘ethnic tattoo’ within Turkey. Although there are several examples of ethnic tattoo in the world. The Syrians originated around the south east Anatolian region and in the middle east have a special tattoo mark put on as a religious sign carried on the arm, especially for those having gone to pilgrim to makka.  The name for this special tattoo is ‘mıski’ for men, and ‘mıskiye for women. If this tattoo will remain actual within the Syrian culture, it still cannot be classified as traditional tattoo, but as ethnic tattoo.

THE NAMES OF TRADITIONAL TATTOOS WITHIN TURKEY’S SOUTH EASTER AREA

• Turkmens use the terminology ‘dövün’, ‘doğün’,
• Kurds call it ‘dek’ or ‘dak’ (pronounced as dahk, dehk) People making tattoos are called “Dekkake, Getting tattoos ‘Medkud’ women getting tattoos are called ‘Medkuke’.
• Arabics call them ‘veşm’, ‘vesm’.

Although all these cultures have different names for tattoos, their meaning is the same. ‘Hitting, or made through hitting’, just as the English equivalent tattoo means to make by hitting the needle.

TRADITIONAL TATTOOING STYLES IN TURKEY

Application of traditional tattoo:

The tattooist uses a burned-out piece of wood or match to draw the outline onto the skin. The prepared mixture is put on the outline with a stick. The tattooist uses a needle and hits it on the skin in a constant speed, by hand. As this procedure (on the contrary to modern tattoo) is highly painful. It doesn’t take more than half an hour to finish it. It is rarely seen that a tattoo is revised afterwards. After a while, when the crust falls off the skin, the original colour of the tattoo becomes visible.

Traditional tattoo needles:

Sewing needles or pins were used. Tattooing needles were made by putting 1, 3, 5, 6, 9 needles together. There is no known reason for choosing a special number of needles. People interviewed claim that the size of the tattoo plays a role to decide about the number of needles. The needles are put in fire in order to maintain sterilization.

Preparing of tattooing paint:

In Kısas they take the milk of a fresh mother into a pot, adding gall fluid. Within Harran people use soot from pots used on open fire. Gall fluid leaves the blue colour under the crust of a wound. And mother milk is supposed to support fertility.

Season of traditional tattooing:

Rabia Zira mentioned when describing the procedure of traditional tattooing that you should get it done ‘before the heat comes in summer’. So tattoos are made in spring or autumn cool weathers as the deep wounds can get infected more in hot seasons.

Places on the body where traditional tattoos are situated:

People wearing tattoos on feet and face probably haven’t got them done at the same time as the pain would be too intensive. The firs choice of positioning changes on the opinion of the person getting them done.

Features of people wearing traditional tattoos:

Tattoos are applied on children in a very young age, in order to protect them from death or diseases. The foot of young girls before they get married in order to bring luck to their new homes. During adolescence young girls get tattooed in order to tell there are ready to marry. To get children, to get a son, to give milk to a breastfeeding mother, people in their middle ages to show their status in a family. Apart from that many people have got tattoos in order to show any kind of situation.

Features of people applying tattoos:

It mustn’t be someone being divorced. It must be someone healthy and not having lost a baby or a child. People believe that the bad fortune of the tattooist would go over to the person getting tattooed. Being tattooed by someone experienced is the preference.