Inking an idenity

Many indigenous peoples throughout the world have inked tattoos for aesthetic and therapeutic reasons which respect their culture and traditions. 

That includes Tharu women in Nepal who have tattooed themselves with traditional motifs that tell stories about their ancestry and the natural world.

The Nat are a nomadic ethnic group that pitch tents near villages to do odd jobs. While the men hunt birds and small mammals, or fish, the women tattoo other women.

Ghurni Chaudhary, 70, from Saptari remembers getting one of her tattoos from a Nat woman in return for cooking for them. Elders told Ghurni that her in-laws would not accept food from her hand if she did not get tattooed.

“Although I don’t know the meaning of floral patterns on my arms, I got inked the pokhair tattoo with a small boat and oarsman,” she adds.

The pokhair is a pond in the Tharu language and the tattoo consists of four corners of a pond – a floral pattern at each corner. The boat symbolises the crossing of the river of life to the other side.

Interestingly, the Tharu epic Gurbabak Jalmauti talks about Gurbaba, the creator of the earth, going to a safer place with his disciples on a boat during the apocalypse. Most Tharu women also get inked with floral patterns to get freedom from the endless cycle of life and death and a symbol of nirvana. 

Ahilya Devi, 80, proudly shows a simple thopa-thopi tattoo on her left arm made with rosette motifs that are supposed to ward off the evil eye.  

“It is one of the simplest tattoos – it’s easy to make for the tattoo artist and looks great on the arm,” she says. “I just have that one, and didn’t want any more.”

The Tharu are forest-dwellers and grow trees in their backyard. Which is why Tharu women from eastern Nepal have a tattoo of the garden of the god Salahesh with flowers and an Ashoka tree.

Kashia Chaudhary shows off her tattoos of sago palm and marigold flower, inked on the back of her lower arm. Another tattoo that covers the whole of the upper or lower arm represents an areca nut palm.

Many women in the village of Ramdhuni in Sunsari wear tattoos of the god Ram and his brother Laxman. Ramdhuni has an eternal flame which is believed to have kept burning from the days of the Ramayana. Lord Ram is supposed to have spent a night here before his exile. 

Garbhi Dasin, an ascetic in her 70s, wears Ram Laxman tattoos on her calf and wheels of a chariot on her shin. Ashia Tharuni from the neighbouring village also wears a Ram Laxman tattoo on her legs. Interestingly, the sacred tattoos find a place on women’s legs, and that too on the rear side.  

Other Tharu women simply got these tattoos as a sign of beauty, and inking is regarded as permanent jewellery. The block tattoos of peacocks on the legs add to the aesthetic.

“We got tattoos to look beautiful,” says Bhuti Devi from Hasanpur village. “These tattoos will accompany us when we die. They will go together with us.”

Bhuti Devi has a lot of tattoos. The most outstanding one perhaps is that of a peacock because Tharus believe they are descendants of Mauryas, the dynasty of Emperor Ashoka who spread Buddhism across the Subcontinent.

Tharus have an important relationship with fish, regarding them and earthworms as the first life on the planet. Fish tattoos are therefore popular. 

Tharus have been credited for their role in nature conservation in their homeland where Chitwan and Bardia national parks are now situated. They used to be elephant handlers for royalty. The elephant tattoo with a mahout is common in tattoos worn by Tharu women.

One woman in Sunsari even has a tattoo called German ke larai (German war) which is a complex tattoo design that includes armies on foot with spears, on elephants, and on horses doing battle.

Tigers are another tattoo that adorn the chest or the upper arm of women, inked on top of other motifs, because they are regarded as goddesses. 

On Nepali New Year, Tharus worship the goddess and other jungle gods, sacrificing goats and pigeons to appease them, so that they and their cattle are not attacked by wild animals and evil spirits. In western Nepal, Tharus get tattoos of horses, animals they revere. 

Some of the tattoos that the artists inked for free were simple human patterns. If somebody got many tattoos made, the artists would also ink them for free, particularly on fingers or the arm. The most prominent tattoo on their hands can be the rays of the sun.

The tattoo artist usually stuck seven needles in candles, collected soot from oil lamps and started piercing the skin. Once done, they applied turmeric powder and mustard oil, as well as chanted a mantra to alleviate the pain.

Tharu elders banned child marriages and tattooing went into decline. Now, the younger generation of Tharus are less interested in getting traditional tattoos, and the Nat no longer wander around the villages offering the service. But a few remain in Kanchanpur and elsewhere.

There is now an increasing awareness and activism about these cultural practices, and a revival of interest. 

“Traditional tattoos are a powerful symbol of our cultural identity,” says Tharu activist Indu Tharu. “For us, this is not just body art but a connection to our ancestral roots, beliefs, and history, and a form of reclaiming unique cultural practices that have been marginalised and suppressed. Wearing a tattoo is a visible declaration of pride in who I am and where I come from.”

KalaKulo, an art initiative, together with artist collective ArTree Nepal, organised Tika Chhedana Angana, a convention on Tharu tattooing in Bardia last year. 

Many young tattoo artists are now learning the art to keep their culture alive. It was not only a celebration of the legacy of Tharu women who have carried a universe of images on their skin, but a beginning for new tattoo artists in the very land that shaped and nurtured this ancestral tradition.   

Skin art for the journey into afterlife

As the art and craft of traditional tattoo fades, so does this rich heritage

Lha-Chyogu is the term for tattooing in the Newa community of Kathmandu Valley. It literally means 'writing on the skin'.

The tattoos are traditionally made using cactus needles and herbal ink, and although a more common adornment in women, men and children also got inked, not just for aesthetics but also for therapeutic reasons or to protect them from evil spirits.

Tattoos on the legs symbolise strength while one on the right arm stands for energy. The concept of reincarnation of the human soul is also linked with inking on the skin and reflects a deep belief system. 

Elders also believe that when a person dies, they take nothing but their tattoos with them.

On their way to heaven or hell, it is the markings on the skin that is believed to be the travel 'pocket money' into the next realm. They pay their way through for an easier journey, wherever that may lead.

Then there is the widespread belief that tattoos drive away misfortune, possibly tied to frequent cholera epidemics, earthquakes and other diseases that took young lives. 

Some of the more famous designs are those of the half-moons, Tikijhya lattice windows, animals and deities. Some even get tattoos of gods and goddesses they were named after. 

For example, Laxmidevi would have a tattoo of the god of wealth whereas someone called Ram might have chosen to have his image on their body.  

Chini Dangol, 74, of Lagan Tole in Kathmandu has a tattoo of Krishna playing flute on her right arm and a half-moon on her hand. She remembers paying 1 paisa for the moon, but five times more for tattoos of gods.

Her 79-year-old husband has a tattoo of Chakuncha, a sparrow (pictured above), but it is barely visible now. He remembers getting it because everyone else was at the time in his neighbourhood.

Suman Nepali