Tattoo Designs

Unique Tribal Tattoo Designs

Tribal tattoos are growing in popularity. They are all about traditions that mark a person as a member of a group, hence the name tribal. Tribal tattoos also express spiritual, magical or religious beliefs.

Tribal tattoos go back many thousands of years. Tribes and families used their tattoos as a means of identification. Modern tribal tattoos exist mainly of bold black lines based on Polynesian tattoo patterns.

These days tribal tattoos are a little less tribal because everyone wants a unique tattoo design. There are a few options when it comes to finding your own unique tribal tattoo design.

Polynesian Tribal Tattoos: These tattoos were pivotal to their culture as they had no written language as we would know it. Social status, family and position were the top massages conveyed by their intricate designs and rituals around them.

Tools used were a comb with needles generally made from bone fixed to a handle. The needles were placed into the ink (made from water, oil and candlenut soot -think charcoal) then against the chosen physical location and tapped on the back, piercing the skin and injecting the ink. The noise made from this is where the name “tattoo” is born, or “tatau” as the Polynesians (Tahitians) would say, or even “Tattow” as Captain James Cook subsequently dubbed it!

Celtic Tribal Tattoos: The Celtic, once a dominant force in what we know as Europe were slowly and very violently pushed north west by the Romans, Angles and Saxons. The Celtic culture is rich with history and legend, but again as there were no classical written language tattoos were required to convey social messaging.

Celtic Tattoos typically know for their intricate knots, interlacing patterns, spirals and animals. Deeply spiritual meanings and significance the interwoven patterns and organic spirals indicate a never ending flow to the world as they viewed it. Today more commonly used as cultural and heritage markers (Scottish, Irish and some Welsh), Celtic bands. Feature the most and are very attractive designs with significance placed on where the Celtic tattoo design is placed

Maori Tribal Tattoos: There is an ancient New Zealand tale of how tattoos came to be for the Maoris which starts with a relationship between a man (Mataora), and an underworld princess (Niwareka.. Mataora foolishly beat Niwareka and she fled to her father’s underworld domain (Uetonga). Mataora, deeply saddened and remorseful for his actions set out to retrieve his lover and then embarks an epic journey to the underworld Uetonga. Finally reaching dishevelled and with face paint smeared and disfigured, his lovers father taught him the art of tattooing which he brought back to the land of men – along with Mataora!

Used primarily to mark status and male rights of passage, similar tools and techniques were used like the Polynesians (Tahitians); in fact it is widely believed that early Polynesians first brought the art to New Zealand.

Custom Tribal Tattoo Designs - Ideas to create your own unique tribal tattoo design.

Custom is hot. If you’re talking about cars, bikes, sneakers or tattoos, everybody wants their favourite life style items to be custom or personalized. So where to look for custom tribal tattoo ideas? Chopper Tattoo has more great tattoo designs than you can imagine. You can also combine two or more tribal tattoo designs to create an even more appealing design.

Read more: Lower Back Tribal Tattoos