tattoos

In this short article I am not just writing about 'Burmese tattoos' but put this topic to the relevant historical and cultural context. Let us begin with your journey to the realm of tattoos.

What do you remember from or find out about the entire year 1991? Not much? Allow me to enable you to remember. It had been the entire year where the 1st Gulf War began, the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated and the Space Shuttle Columbia lifted removed from Cape Canaveral to take Spacelab to the orbit. With respect to the topic of this short article the most important event of the entire year 1991, was the discovery of 'Oetzi' the Iceman on 19 September 1991 in Europe. The very well preserved mummy was frozen in ice high on the glacier of the Fineilspitze, a mountain in the Austrian Alps on the Austrian/Tyrolean (Italian) border at a height of 10.530 ft/3.210 m.

Now I will clearly begin to see the question marks in your eyes and hear your questions for what on earth so-called Burmese tattoos have regarding a place in Europe, 4.140 nautical miles/7.670 kilometres far from Burma and who for God's sake Oetzi', the Iceman' is. Do not get impatient I will give you the answers today; you will soon be surprised.

Firstly, I can tell you who or what Oetzi' is. Oetzi' could be the nickname Oetzi, while he was found in the Oetztal Alps) fond of a heart aged man (about 46 years old) who was simply almost certainly of higher status (he carried a copper axe with him what in those days was a status symbol). His life available at some time taken between 3239 and 3105 BCE a violent end (because he was murdered) at where he (what is left of him) was found or in close vicinity to it. He (his mummy) is during the time with this writing some 5.300 years old and remains to this day a treasure trove of valuable information for scientists.

Now I will let do you know what the connection between him and Burma is. 'Oetzi' could be the up to now oldest definite proof ever unearthed that already in the copper age people wore tattoos because he had 61 of these spread over 19 parts (wrists, calves, spine and chest, etc) of his body. Some sources speak of 49 tattoos, that was the very first amount of tattoos that were found on him in 1991 when he was discovered. This number increased over time because more and more tattoos, which are often barely visible against the dark background of the skin, were found. The last one was discovered in December 2015 what has increased the total count to 61.

Although you can find connections in type of migrating and travelling folks from Western Europe to central Europe Eastern Europe Russia and China (some mummies found in China are Caucasian and Eurasian of European origin) I actually do in no way want to claim that the art of tattooing spread from Europe to Burma because it would - I believe - be rather foolish to assume that tattooing originated at one specific place and started to spread around the world then and from there.

Archaeological findings which can be hinting at the existence of tattoos have been reported from different places from all over the world why is it much more likely that at ab muscles beginning tattooing started at different occuring times and in different cultures independently from one another and spread from these regions and cultures to the respective neighbouring regions and cultures until there wasn't anyplace with this planet left where tattooing wasn't known and practised. No one will ever understand how it to be real but this is my idea of how it's almost certainly been.

Into regions and cultures that nowadays belong to the ones that make-up Burma (since 1989 also referred to as Myanmar), tattooing was introduced long after it was already integral part of several cultures in other parts of the world.

I admit that previously I have seriously contemplated obtaining a tattoo myself. I have, finally, decided against it for concern with health problems such as HIV and do not need one. The exact same goes for my partner, daughter and grandson (OK, the latter remains much too small to be tattooed). But otherwise I see them (the tattoos) every day. Everywhere and from morning to evening they're around me in all qualities and from unichrome to multi-coloured tattoos.

Burmese - especially men - without a minumum of one tattoo certainly are a very rare thing to see for tattoos are an important part of what's called 'Burmese Culture' and are much treasured by the predominantly highly superstitious Burmese people. That's why I decided to publish an article on Burmese tattoos.

All I knew about tattoos when I decided to publish about them was that the tattoo is really a picture that is more or less artfully inserted to the skin. Believing that that was all regarding tattoos I assumed that to publish about them would not be a big deal, I was afraid even that I would not have enough stuff to fill just one page; remote the mark. To be certain, what I knew about tattoos wasn't wrong, but to genuinely believe that was all that there surely is to understand about any of it was. It had been like believing that all that maths comprises of would be the multiplication tables. Quickly I consequently found out that there surely is far more to the topic 'tattoo' but, alas, only some authentic, reliable and not easily to get sources (most of what you will see on the internet are plagiarism or copyright infringement) on the subject of tattoos and that tackling the topic 'body art' better called 'tattoo' way to set about an enormous and vastly complex albeit tremendously interesting subject. Subsequently, this short article isn't supposed to cover and explain everything about tattoos, tattooing and related matters. I will confine myself in this short article to what I deem the minimum had a need to cover the topic tattoos, generally speaking, and 'Burmese tattoos', in particular, as brief that you can and as detailed as necessary.