Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Taru tattoo

Tribal tattoos from the Taru people.



The taru people live in the Torai area of Nepal. That is in the flat land, before the start of the mountains. The taru women get full body tribal tattoo. A non tattoed woman can not serve food to the rest of the community.



Originally,the tattoos were a protection against malaria. Mixing ashes and herbs into the ink, the tattoos were medecinal. The arms and leggs designs are tribal. Trees and rivers represented by lines are the usual motifs.




With modern times, the tattoo tradition is dying, as the kids move to the city to find jobs. Soon, this art form for the taru tribe will be a thing of the past...

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