::: ::: :::   ::: Home / Local Culture / Facial Tattoo Culture | Local Culture | Facial Tattoo Culture | Traditional Handicrafts | Facial Tattoo Culture Origin of Facial Tattoo：   There were many legends about the origin of facial tattoo. One of them was that long long time ago a large stone on the mountain cracked suddenly. Then a brother and a sister popped out. Worrying about the reproduction of next generation, the sister suggested marrying each other. But the brother disagreed to this suggestion. He thought that brothers and sisters should not get married. Then the sister cheated the brother and told him, "Tomorrow afternoon there will be a woman waiting for you at the foothill. And she will be your wife." The brother thought it to be truth, and was going to meet the lady happily. The next day the sister smeared charcoal on her face and waited for her brother at the cave before the time of meeting. Then the brother came. He could not recognize that the lady in front of him was his sister. Finally they got married. From then on, human beings were thus reproduced from generation to generation. In fact marriage between Taiya brothers and sisters is prohibited. Any marriage between close relatives will be severely punished by their ancestral soul, "utux." But in that legend there were only two people in the world. In order to reproduce the mankind from generation to generation, the brother and sister had no way but to marry each other. Facial Tattoo of Taiya Tribe：   People are always curious about facial tattoo. The tattoo of Taiya tribesmen is a symbol of "life." Only the male tribesmen with brave performance in fighting and hunting, and only the female tribesmen with beautiful appearance and weaving skill are allowed to be tattooed on their faces. The tattoo of a married woman is a symbol of chastity and loyalty to her husband. Normally male tribesmen are tattooed on their foreheads and cheekbones, and female tribesmen are tattooed on their foreheads and cheeks. The male tribesmen with several successful head-hunting experience and the female tribesmen with extraordinary weaving skill have exclusive rights to be tattooed with specific patterns on their chests, hands and feet so as to glorify their acts. In the past pre-marital sex intercourse was strictly prohibited in Taiya Tribe. Taiya tribesmen thought that any adultery would irritate the ancestral spirit, which would make the tattoo wounds become inflamed and could not be recovered easily, or make the pattern turn vague, faded and unclear. Therefore, before tattooing, a tattooist must ask whether the tattooed had done any illicit act. If positive, the tattooed had to confess to the ancestral spirit first. Of course the tattoo fee would be doubled. After being tattooed, the whole face will be swollen and the mouth cannot open wide. Eating seems to be a difficult thing. During the resting period, the tattooed has to stay at home all day long and cannot go out to be blown by wind. If a tattooed lady has very dark and clear tattoo pattern, it means that she remains chaste and is kind. When she is going to marry someone, she can ask for more betrothal gifts from the fiance, or marry a good husband. In other words, all male and female juveniles have to comply with the orders and lectures of their ancestors. They should not involve any adultery or other acts bringing disgrace to their ancestral spirits. Way of Facial Tattoo：   【Facial Tattoo】When the male Taiya tribesman becomes an adult, he must be tattooed on his forehead, and so is the female Taiya tribesman. But when a Taiya woman is going to get married, she has to be tattooed from the cheeks to the mouth, forming a V-shape tattoo pattern. Normally the tattooing work is done by the women of the community. The tattoo tool is a wooden rod at about 15cm long. It is installed with a metallic pin in toothbrush shape, and attached with a wooden hammer at about 25cm long (see picture). The ink is made from the charcoal burnt in the stove. When tattooing, use a hand to hold the metallic pin on the tattoo area, and another hand to hold the hammer for striking the pin. Wipe off the blood bled, and then smear charcoal onto the face. Facial Tatto in the Early Days：   Facial tattoo of Taiya Tribe in the early days. The facial tattoo custom of Taiya Tribe is passed on from generation to generation. All tribesmen have to be tattooed between the age of 5 and 15. Male tribesmen have to hunt animals successfully for several times before they can be tattooed on foreheads and chins. And female tribesmen have to know how to weave before they can be tattooed on faces as the facial tattoo custom mainly governs the women!|s inheritance of the responsibility of weaving. Only tattooed women can get marry. Of course the untattooed women will find it difficult to marry an ideal husband.