BODY INSCRIPTIONS AND TATTOOS AS IT RELATE TO THE AFRICAN CULTURE

I remember the story of a nursing mother who was involved in a tragic and ghastly accident and, unfortunately, lost her life, but the little baby was spared. Passersby intervened, and the only saving grace for the child was the tattoo on the late mother’s arm. The deceased had on her arm an inscription of her name and also the household to which she belonged. This was how the baby was reconciled with her relatives after she lost her mother. This fashion is a bit uncommon now, but the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria had inscriptions of names on parts of their bodies as a culture. Being in the medical field, I have had some patients expose their bodies, and I was privileged to see inscriptions with names and short addresses on their skins. The common parts for such inscriptions on the body are the forearms and legs.

Making inscriptions on body parts is not limited to the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria alone, as the Nupe tribe that I hail from also has it in practice. I have a cousin sister who spent the better part of her growing up stage in our house, and right in front of her ears was the leaf-shaped inscription carefully designed on her skin bilaterally. She looked more beautiful with it, and even recently, when I met a friend who knew her, she used the inscription to describe her, which affirmed the authenticity of her knowledge about my cousin sister.

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It is not uncommon to find tattoos inscribed on the younger generation in Nigeria, most especially the female gender. A very common practice among the Hausas of Northern Nigeria is the writing of inscriptions on women about to get married. These inscriptions, popularly called 'Lali', are beautifully designed by specialists on the bride’s feet and hands. These inscriptions add more beauty to the bride, as designs such as flowers can be drawn on the individual. Lali inscriptions are often temporary and can be washed off after the event necessitating their inscription.

Tattoos are often designed by mature individuals. These tattoos can bear pictures of celebrities or of people who are held in high esteem. Tattoos can also be as simple as word inscriptions.

African culture has the tradition of marking inscriptions on the children of a specific household as a symbol of recognition. Having some peculiar tattoos inscribed on an individual can tell the lineage of such an individual, just like that of my cousin aforementioned. Seeing people with particular tattoos may point me in the direction of what part of the country such an individual is from.

Here in Nigeria, tattoos are often misconceived to give a bad image to the bearer. Young ladies are particularly known to inscribe tattoos on sensitive and provocative parts of their bodies, such as their breasts or thighs. Common in this regard are commercial sex workers. The average African parent frowns at inscriptions or tattoos by their children or even friends of their children.

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Body arts drawn through cursive writing are done by specialists using sterilized instruments. Unfortunately, patronizing unskilled people who may wrongly inscribe a design or even use unsterilized equipment can deface the skin.

Keloids and hypertrophic Scars are possible complications that may arise when unsterilized equipment is used or when the individual has sensitive skin. These complications are often ugly and could deface the individual, sometimes requiring the intervention of plastic or cosmetic surgeons when drug treatments fail.

Body inscriptions like Lali can be aesthetically appealing. I do not have a tattoo, but I would not mind my future daughters having the Lali inscribed on their feet and hands when they are off to marry.

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Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.