The tradition of body art in Ethiopia is rich and diverse, with a history stretching back centuries. From religious symbols to marks of identity and beauty, Ethiopian tattoos, known as "Niksat," hold deep cultural significance. This article explores the origins, meanings, and modern trends of Ethiopian tattoos, shedding light on this fascinating aspect of Ethiopian heritage.
Ethiopian woman with facial tattoos
The Origins of Ethiopian Tattoos
According to a number of sources, this tradition began in Ethiopia during the period of Emperor Ezana of the Axum dynasty in the 4th century, likely as a result of the spread of Christianity. The decorations on grandma’s, mom’s or auntie’s neck have long been part of who they are for us. This tradition is found among several ethnic groups, such as the Amhara, the Hamar, and the Afar.
Ethiopians started getting tattooed in the fourth century along with the introduction of Christianity, according to Solomon Tessema, an expert on traditional practices at Addis Ababa University. It is said that the practice of tattooing originated in the 16th century.
Traditional Tattooing Practices
Women are usually the ones to receive and give tattoos, and the traditional areas for the tattoos are the forehead, neck, chin, chest, hands, or gums. The technique involves a single needle and ink, mostly made out of charcoal and water. Young women get the Niksat not only administered on their skins but also on their gums. Having darker gums is one criterion of beauty in the rural areas of Ethiopia.
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When a young girl goes to the Nekash, she takes several needles with her. The Nekash then rubs the skin with diluted soot or fine charcoal powder and keeps piercing the skin with 3 to 5 needles tied together until the color is imprinted into the skin and the intended effect emerges. The girl may need to go to the Nekash for two consecutive days to complete the process.
In Tigray, Gondar, and Gojjam, it’s not only the women who get Niksat on their gums. Men also do it. What differentiates it from the women’s is that the whole length of the gum is not tattooed, just a part of it.
Traditionally, only the lower lip and gum were tattooed with a pigment of charcoal mixed with shea butter when a girl reached puberty. I was told not to eat solid food, nor something spicey for a week or so.
Yelfign says the Nekash was paid in kind for her deed: “Grains and coffee beans were preferred items of payment.” This was half a century ago.
Niksat as a cultural practice:
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- Cultural and religious identifiers of the bearer
- Beautification
- Ward off evil eyes
- Healing powers for dental problems
- Curing goiter - enlarged thyroid glands on the neck
Ethiopian tattoos
Common Symbols and Their Meanings
The most common symbols are a sun, a cross, stars, or other Amharic symbols and decorations. Symbols of Niksat are believed to be cultural and religious identifiers of the bearer. Women from Gondar and Tigray usually get chain-like patterns on their necks with a sign of the cross on their chest.
Many wear the distinctive “iron hand” cross as a tattoo on their sternum or foreheads that resembles the sun and acts as a talisman to ward off evil spirits or permanently mark their devotion to God. The neck is similarly crossed with rows of interconnected cruciforms. Symbolically, the “Tree of Life” of the early Christian tradition is generally believed to be the originating element of these crucifix tattoos, although some scholars suggest another source.
Reasons for getting tattooed:
- To note their religious affiliation
- For decoration
- For medical reasons
The commonly executed tattoo patterns differ from place to place. Girls in Tigray and Gondar have similar symbols tattooed while those in Gojjam have their own particular designs.
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Tattoos Among Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel)
Similar tattoos can also be found among Ethiopian Beta Israel women. Some of them chose to get tattooed for the reasons noted above, and some were forced to get them for survival, needing to hide their Jewish identity. Moshe Lapidoth and Gali Aharonowitz elaborate on this in their study on tattoo removals saying, “Many Jews in Ethiopia adopted the Christian custom of tattooing various parts of the body, either after conversion or to hide their Jewish origin. The Beta-Israels who lived among Ethiopians, mostly in Gondar, had to use tattoos as one means of concealing their true religion to avoid stigmatization while living under a strict Christian culture.
Historically, the vast majority of Jewish communities generally refrained from tattooing, even when living in environments with established tattoo traditions, due to the prohibition on tattoos in Leviticus 19:28. Beta Israel woman, Jerusalem, 2010. Ethiopian Jews, however, did develop traditions of tattooing (note: even though the sacred text of the Ethiopian Jewish community was not the Hebrew text of the Bible but its Ge‘ez translation, known as the Orit, this prohibition still appears there as well).
From the little published material, and my own observations, I can make a few basic comments. Beta Israel tattoos, known as tukurat, are done primarily for women, on the face (forehead, temples, and chin), neck, and hands. The tattooing is done with charcoal, although the exact process is unclear. The motifs range from simple circles and crosses to more elaborate sun-like shapes and necklace-like rings around the throat. The suggestion has also been made that the tattoos, the crosses in particular, were intended to disguise Jews in a hostile Christian environment, or to deflect potential anti-Jewish violence, but it remains unclear.
Tattoo Removal and Social Integration in Israel
After immigrating to Israel, social pressure increased to remove these tattoos, and many women have done so. Lapidoth and Aharonowitz (2004) describe the use of laser technology to “improv[e] the quality of life of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel and eas[e] their social integration in their adopted country".
These tattoos, as one might imagine, are frequently invoked in describing the Beta Israel as Other. Hadas Nogah, an Ethiopian-Israeli who immigrated at the age of 9, remembers: “[Officials] told me that ‘whoever has a tattoo on their body won’t enter Jerusalem.’ When they told me I cried all day. I tried to quickly remove my tattoo but a mark remained”.
Modern Trends in Ethiopian Tattoos
Now, one can observe a different trend of Niksat in Gondar. The traditional patterns are fading with time as the modern ones become popular. Young men and women are getting tattoos on their bodies, not of the old patterns but photographs or names of their beloved ones.
Yidnekachew Yikunoamlak is a professional tattooist in Gondar, who lives and works in the area called Bilko in the city. He told us how he got into this business. “I do sketches sometimes. People encouraged me to get into the tattoo business as it is becoming trendy in the city. The most popular tattoo images now are photographs of people one doesn’t want to forget or symbols from a certain religion.
“Some get tattoos to be considered as a sign of being cool. They often don’t seem to know the meanings behind the symbols they tell me to tattoo. The tool he uses to create the tattoos is called Dynamic Tripple. Patterns that are difficult to sketch take as long as two hours to finish, says Yidnekachew. He charges 400-2500 ETB (8 to 50 USD) for getting the tattoos done.
“There are young men and women who get tattoos of their girlfriends/boyfriends’ names. They later come back to me asking to get other tattoos done over the previous ones. Some individuals go to big cities to get their tattoos erased. But even though they get it erased, it always leaves a scar behind.
Yidnekachew says no customer has come back to him with complaints related to health complications. “I take much care when I do the tattoos. Though modern tattoo patterns are considered fashionable among the youth in Gondar, those who get them are dubbed “unruly” by the elders. It’s taken as a sign of rebellious behavior.
Tattooing Practices Throughout Sub-Saharan Africa
During the Age of Exploration, Europeans became aware of the relatively extreme forms of body art practiced in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of these was scarification, a body modification procedure that offered a sculptural quality to the skin. The Tsemay are an Omo Valley people of southern Ethiopia that practice tattooing which is called do-ey. I met young Elsa Mamo at a tourist rest-stop before the village of Weyto and she told me that “once I became a woman, I got my facial tattoos.”
The Amharic people of the northern Ethiopia have a rich tattooing tradition that perhaps stretches back to 330 A.D. when their people converted to Christianity.
Tattooed Fulani woman of Cameroon
Examples of tattooing practices in other African tribes:
- Fulani: In Mali, women’s tattooing resembles the bold and dark mouth tattoos of the Ainu of Japan and completely surround and cover the lips in a circular pattern.
- Barabaig and Karamajong: These “goggle” tattoos surround the eye sockets of both men and women and are usually pigmented.
- Bushmen: The Kwengo Bushmen placed additional tattoos on important muscles.
- Bini: One century ago, no male Bini citizen of the Kingdom without tattoos could exercise his prerogative of membership in the palace societies.
- Yoruba: Women were the primary recipients and Yorubas often commented that kolo are a “test” for the brave to endure so that they will be praised after their painful skin-cut tattoos have healed.
- Fang: The Fang practiced two types of tattooing: relief tattoos (mamvam) that were a form of pigmented scarification, and flat tattoos (mevale) that were pricked with a comb-like tool into the skin.
The Bini or Edo people were the original founders of the Benin Empire (1440-1897) of southwest Nigeria. It was said that in ancient times no Bini man would marry a woman without tattoos.
