With the ever-rising popularity of tattoos, it is interesting to delve into the history of tattooing. Tattoos have been a part of the lifestyle of many tribes. Tribal tattoo art, which was the form of tattoo applied in ancient times, was meaningful to the entire tribe. In fact, choice of what tattoo each person would get was not his own but that of the tattoo artist.

Tribal tattoos are usually black or dark blue. The ink is made from burned wood or from vegetable carbon. At the beginning, tattoos symbolized fertility, life and natural elements. Since many primitive peoples believed that your spirit is a replica of your body, tattoos were made to insure spouses will find each other in the afterlife.
Another tattoo ritual is a girl's rite of passage into adulthood. This is performed even today in tribes, where girls are considered marriegeable only after they have withstood the pain of a facial tattoo. In other tribes, a girl who cannot withstand the pain is a girl that will not get married since it is believed she will not be able to withstand the pain involved in child labor. However, in some tribes, modern tribe girls are free to express their opinion and some choose not to go through this painful ritual. However, this choice can make the girl a subject of ridicule. Some tribes regard the tattoo ritual as signifying courage and a girl who chooses not to have one is considered a coward.
Unlike the electric tattoo machines that are used today, tribal tattoos are made with chisels and knifes. These tools made the tattooing process far more painful and posed greater risk to one's health. Maori tribal tattoos, for example, are called ta moko which means "to tap". They are created by tapping on the skin with a chisel. Another common way of making tribal tattoos is rubbing ink against the skin after making incisions in the shape of the wanted design.