The etymology of the term tattoo derives from the Tahitian terms ‘“tau” or “tatau”, meaning “open wound, punctured drawing”. It is an onomatopoeia in reference to the sound produced by tools used to knock on a bare-tree trunk.’ ‘Tatau’ morphed as the English term ‘tattoo’, dates back to the 18th Century, when the British explorer Captain James Cook returned back to Europe and eventually emerged the new term in the English vocabulary (Lise, M.L.Z., Cataldo Neto, A., Gauer, J.G.C., Dias, H.Z.J., Pickering, V.L., 2010), (Fisher, J.A., 2000).
Eventually, by the aid of archaeological removals, evidence on forms of body inscribing dates back to as far as 12000BC. Early nomadic tribes, practised tattoo inscription as a form of identity or belonging to an alliance. Usually their illustrations were emblematic within nature (Palermo, 2004). …show more content…
The term ‘stigmata’ – actually meant tattooing (Jones, 2000) – was allied with neighbour rivalry, which socially was dishonoured and consequently, was used for making ‘‘Others’ within Greek culture, such as criminals and slaves.’ This association was then transmitted to the Romans, in which tattooing was used and refer to, by Gustafson (2000), as a state of control mechanism. Romans could easily have control on criminals and slaves’ movements; by emitting these indelible symbols, their bodies would act as representatives, by reflecting their social status (Fisher, J.A.,