Tribal Tattoo Designs - Oldest Tattoos

Tribal tattoo designs have been the first tattoo designs to be used. Tattoos originated in various tribes across the world, where members of each tribe would paint or scar certain marks on them. Tattooing is done today by inserting ink in the pores of the skin so as to make a permanent mark on the skin but this originated in various primitive tribes as an extremely crude and painful procedure.

It is known that several tribes such as Celtic, Irish, Chinese, Indian, African, Native American, Maori, etc. all over the world used tattoos. The design themes that these tribes used have collectively come to be known as tribal tattoo designs. Tribal tattoos are generally done in black color.

The tribes generally used tattoos to honor God or to identify members of their tribe. They might have also been used as symbol of bravery and courage, as during those times it was extremely tormenting to get a tattoo. Tattoos were also used to commemorate certain occasions in the life of tribesmen such birth of new born or entering into adulthood, etc. or to mark certain events in the history of the tribe such as victory in a war or end of famine, etc.

Both men and women in the tribe usually get tattoos but men generally get more tattoos than women. Also it is common in certain tribes for men to get tattoos all over their face but women would usually only get tattoos on checks or other parts of their body.

Even though most tribes used extremely primitive techniques to draw their tattoos, their designs are very exotic and articulate. These tattoo designs are extremely detailed and are very difficult to reproduce. So if you are planning to get a tribal tattoo it is exceptionally important that you visit an artist who specializes in tribal art. Not every tattoo artist will be able to ink a good tribal tattoo for this kind of tattoo requires a lot of precision.

Also before getting a tribal tattoo, it is important that you try to find out what it symbolizes. Tribal tattoos have a lot of in-depth meaning attached to their designs. Though the designs might look simple but they are very mystical in nature and you will be able to really appreciate a tribal tattoo only if you know the hidden meaning behind it.

Tribal tattoos can also be combined with other designs such as animals, floral, weapons, etc. But it is important for tribal art to be unique; it doesn't look good if you have cookie cutter designs. For this reason it is extremely important as to how you get the tribal design. If you just pick up your design by doing a search on the internet, you might end up with a fake tribal tattoo or something that has been used by thousands of people. In some tribe it is actually considered an insult to copy that tattoo.

It is best to get your tribal tattoo designs from a paid tattoo website. These websites hire tattoo artists to create these designs and they are very different than what you find on the free websites. Moreover upon request on some of these websites, you can even request the artist to customize your tattoo to make it unique for you.