Tattooing in Myanmar

Among the Bamar, the custom of tattooing originates from the Shan people, who believed that tattoos had magical or spiritual connotations, used in a similar manner as amulets and protective charms.[2] This practice coincided with the Shan States' control of Upper Burma from the 14th to 17th centuries, as the Shan, themselves tattooed, introduced this practice to the Bamar.[3]

The Arakanese people who are related to the Bamar did not practice tattooing.[4] Similarly, the Mon people did practice tattooing, but did not tattoo their thighs unlike the Bamar.[5]

However, with the onset of colonial rule in Burma, the practice of tattooing quickly became extinct, particularly in Burmese towns.[3] During the 1930s, tattooing saw a resurgence in popularity among rebels who participated in peasant and millennial uprisings.[6] Men tattooed themselves to provide immunity to bullets and knives.[6] The practice of tattoo is regaining popularity among Burmese youth.[7]

Watercolour painting from 1897 by an unknown Burmese artist depicting 19th century "LEK-PWE-THAT THEE" boxing match. All fighters wearing longyi and Htoe Kwin.

Tattooing was a painful procedure that could required extensive use of opium used as a painkiller.[9] A professional tattoo artist (မှင်ကြောင်ဆရာ or ကွင်းဆရာ) used a hnitkwasok, a long two-pronged brass or iron instrument with a 2 inches (51 mm) slit similar to a double-pointed pen, to pierce the skin.[4][9] Completion of the tattoos took from 3 to 6 days.[9] Nearly all Bamar men were tattooed at boyhood (between the ages of 8 and 14),[9] from the waist to the knees.[10] The tattooed patterns were ornamented pastiches of arabesques and animals and legendary creatures, including cats, monkeys, chinthe, among others.[4] For the Bamar, tattooing of the waist, done with black pigment, was done before or soon after temporary ordination into monkhood, a major rite of passage for men.[4] Other parts of the body were tattooed with red pigments.[4] Among the Shan, blue or red pigments were especially popular, as were charms and cabalistic figures similar to yantra tattoos.[9][11]

A tattooed Chin woman, 2009.

Southern Chin women were also tattooed on their faces with closely set lines using blue pigments, ostensibly to discourage them from being kidnapped by invaders.[14] Chin women were typically tattooed between the ages of 15 and 20.[15] The practice has quickly disappeared, as it was banned in the 1960s by Burma's socialist regime and it was discouraged by Christian missionaries.[16][17] Mro women also wore tattoos in the form of small marks or stars on the cheek, forehead or breast.[4]

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