•Beauty, decoration or the influence of popular culture are the main reasons people get tattoos. Regrettably, Africans have also westernised their tattoos without any regard to their meanings.

By MOSES KABAILA JR –
TATTOOS are slowly becoming common in our Zambian culture. A weekend at an entertainment or public place hardly passes without seeing somebody with a Western or modern tattoo, especially our womenfolk.
The inking ranges from shoulders, necks to waists. Some of the common ones are the tramp stamp done just below the back of a woman’s waist, the heart shape which can be anywhere, the tribal tattoos shaped like the number 11 (inembo), star designs and also verses from the Bible.
Western tattoos or inks as they are called sometimes have meanings just like traditional Zambian tattoos.
Brenda Mufalali, a journalist based in Livingstone says: “Tattoos, be it in an African or Western culture, they represent something.”
She feels that there is something attached to tattoos. In some circles it was said African tattoos are said to be evil, on the other hand the modern tattoos are said to be connected to the underworld.
“I wouldn’t get one, it’s important for citizens or members of the public to know what they are getting into and the consequences,” Ms Mufalali said.
Whether modern or traditional, Zambian or Western, people have their own concerns about tattoos which they sometimes portray as demonic, primitive, satanic, promiscuous, romantic, fun etc. For Zambians, modern tattoos are slowly creeping into our culture.
While some African cultures use tattooing as a way of injecting traditional herbs in their sick relatives, others just do it for self-belief and honour to people who have been influential to them in one way or the other. An example is Nelson Mandela whose image has become one of the most hosted tattoos.
On a random survey to hunt down tattoo hosts so as to find out why they have inked these skin parasites, most of them argued that tattoos are nothing more than a cultural practice that exists in almost every other culture around the world. Others said it was just a way of having fun with their skins.
For Stephen Ngoma, however, it was a different scenario, his Nazi Swastika tattoo he scarred on his skin when in primary school is stuck with him for the rest of his life. As a boy, he said he did not know the meaning of the Swastika but its shape fascinated him to an extent where he used match stick to engrave the scarring on his left shoulder.
“It was painful but after it healed. I thought I was the main man. I don’t know what to do with it now. I am in my late 40s and still enduring a torrid time with this. It doesn’t fascinate me or anyone anymore,” Mr Ngoma said.
So why get a tattoo?
Some reasons for tattooing
In the West, people get tattoos for a variety of reasons, reasons similar to those that motivated the older Zambian generation. Beauty, decoration or the influence of popular culture are the main reasons people get tattoos. Regrettably, Africans have also westernised their tattoos without any regard to their meanings.
According to research, unlike the West, the original reasons for tattooing in Africans, particularly Zambians were not randomly chosen; they often had historical and cultural significance. Another reason Zambians got tattooed was to show tribal, ethnic or familial loyalty.
Scarring or tattooing in Africa can also symbolise a rite of passage and is applied to men and women. When boys become men, they might take on a scar to show their inner strength.
Hazel Chabala shared her sentiments on the idea of getting a tattoo: The first things that someone should think of before getting a tattoo is the meaning behind them. The problem is that people don’t like reading, hence do things without knowledge.
Western tattoos in Zambia are new and not in our tradition. I for one think a tattoo makes you look like a prostitute and has a lot of superstition behind it; I can’t have one and would never allow my daughter or son to have one either.
The following, according to an independent research, are the most common reasons why people get tattoos.
Strength and courage
Tattooing is a sign and test of courage. Tattooing is quite painful, and requires great personal strength to get through the procedure without crying out in pain.
Fertility/Waist
Tattooing was especially prized in young women of marriageable age. Abdominal scars were seen as an indication of a woman’s willingness to bear children. According to African culture, this is considered a very desirable quality in a future wife. Scars were also believed to make a woman more receptive to her husband’s sexual attentions. (Extract from spirituality.com)
Family Pride
Tattooing could also be a matter of family pride. One coming of age ceremony for a young man includes asking his sisters to endure a ritual beating that leaves their backs scarred and bloody. The scars are viewed as signs of love and respect from the sisters for their brother, and the girls endure the ritual without showing their pain.
Protection from Death
Some people believe in the presence of spirits around them, both good and evil. In a departure from using scarring as a way to beautify, facial scarring is sometimes used to make a person less desirable to the spirit of death. In this case, scarring is used as a means of protection.
Tattoos were also used to mark significant moments in one’s life. This could be the birth of a child, the death of a loved one or anything else that had left a permanent mark on one’s consciousness or changed the course of their life.
Although traditional tattooing may be practised slightly less in recent times than it used to be in Zambia, people are now going for Western tattoos.
Traditional or Western, with such meanings associated with tattoos, is scaring for you?
“Okay it’s not really a bad idea but I just think it should just be in hidden place where no one can see it in case of you girlfriend’s name you should be certain and sure that you are going to spend the rest of your life with these people because most tattoos are permanent,” said Suwilanji Wayne Sichi of Ndola.
Sarah Mulsa Nalu of Lusaka had different reasoning, “I don’t think it’s even fashion or whatever you may call it to have a tattoo. People with tattoos are looking for attention and want the next person to think they are tough or something, but I think they have a low self-esteem. it is a dense decision to get a tattoo, a decision that one will forever regret, especially in a culture like ours here in Zambia.”
The choice to have yourself scarred is a very personal one, because no one can walk through the pain with you. The path is yours alone if you choose it.
Tattoos are also permanent, so you should give the idea some deep thought before you make a decision to do it. Will the scars fit in with the rest of your life? Will your employer have a problem with your body art if it shows outside of your work clothes?
Will your wife, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend find the scars as attractive as you do? These are all things to be considered as you weigh your decision.