Morbid Tattoo and Body Piercing - Makati City, Philippines

The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian “tatu” which means “to mark something.”It is arguably claimed that tattooing has existed since 12,000 years BC. The purpose of tattooing has varies from culture to culture and its place on the time line. But there are commonalties that prevail form the earliest known tattoos to those being done on college students on Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley.For many, people in the Philippines still view tattoos as a symbol reserved for those in jail, a dirty expression, and a dying art form with the tribal peoples of the mountain provinces.Once revered as a symbol for headhunters and their relations, the tribal peoples have since abandoned this expression (as well as headhunting) and lean towards more western ways. The symbols of their tattoos are minimal  

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in documentation and may be seen in Aleks Figueroa’s forthcoming book on tattoos from the Philippines.