The History of Tattooing
Africa
Berbers - Luluwa - Nubians - Different tribes

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 In Africa, where people have dark skin, it is difficult to make a colourtattoo, like we know them. But they want to be tattooed anyway, so they have developed another technique - they make scarifications. This is not really tattooing, but it is related to tattooing, so I will treat them here anyway. I call it "tattooing for the blind", because they can be felt like Braille lettering.

Normally scarifications are made by lifting the skin a little, and making a cut with a knife or some other sharp thing. In the wound that occurs, is rubbed special sands or ashes that is known to make beautifully raised scars.

You can place these scars in beautiful patterns on the body, and these patterns will often follow local traditions.


Different scarification designs
From the book:
Arnold Rubin (ed): Marks of Civilization
UCLA 1988

Africans who are not so dark skinned, can of course also use the form of colour tattoos that we know.

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