The reasons for tattoos vary from folklore to folklore, so it is impossible to list them one by one. There are four kinds of statements recorded in literature and literati poems. Among them, it is a common and recognized saying that Gu Yi said that he did not have a tattoo in the Ming Dynasty, "then his ancestors would not recognize him as a descendant." Other documents have also made a general description: tattoos "are like being stabbed by ancestors, dare not make mistakes, and claim to be afraid of being ignorant of their ancestors after death." This makes it clear that tattoos are a legacy handed down by ancestors. If a woman doesn't get a tattoo when she is alive, her ancestors will disown her after death and become homeless wild ghosts. In other words, tattoo custom originated from primitive religion, and tattoo contains the meaning of clan symbol.
There are three other sayings, one is to prevent being plundered: "Hainan Li women are all embroidered with faces." What a beautiful girl in Galilee, who was stolen by outsiders; Those Lebanese women have a festival, and their faces are vulgar, which has been admired and effective so far. "The second is to show the loyalty of love:" Every woman in Lebanon wants to be a character, so she should forgive herself and choose a match. Her heart is to please her, so a man is a tattoo of a woman. ..... Its tricks are all given by men, so that they can't remarry. "The above-mentioned' patterns are all made by people' may be the custom of some dialects of the Li nationality before the Qing Dynasty; Later, the tattoos of the Li nationality were all in the same dialect, the same belief and the same tribe, and the tattoo patterns of their daughters were the same as those of their mothers. Moreover, it is said that men are female tattoos; That's not true either. Men can't go near tattoos. The third is beauty: "Wuzhishan women are miscellaneous, and embroidered noodles are better than married fat. "
The cause of tattooing is unitary or pluralistic, because the Li nationality has a long history and does not have its own writing, so it is impossible to verify it now.
Tattooing is a sacred part of Li people's life, so the ceremony and process of tattooing are naturally valued by Li people. It can be said that tattooing used to be a common ritual of every Li woman's life customs, so the customs, rituals and taboos of tattooing are also very complicated.
Tattoo tools are relatively simple, mostly based on local materials. There are mainly rattan thorns, bat needles and dyes. Rattan thorns are mostly white rattan thorns. Lianas mostly grow in Li area. The vines are dense and solitary. When living alone, the thorns must be sharp, and the thorns must be neatly arranged on the shaft on the same side of the vine. Alternate (that is, opposite) rows of thorns should be arranged neatly, with equal length and equal spacing, and generally take one or two groups. The length of the hand-held part is arbitrary. Peel off the skin, leaving only wood and bones. Keep the vines clean to avoid infection and illness after giving the article. Where there are no vines, the hard and sharp thorns of other plants can be used as tools. Needle bat is a tool for tattooing and hitting rattan thorns. It can be bamboo, wood or chopsticks. Dyes are used to draw and dye patterns in tattoos. Use charcoal from local trees to mix vegetable oil, water or juice from plant leaves, stems and fruits. Different trees are used in different places. For example, Kuzi charcoal oil, Juglans mandshurica seed ash water, Sekan wood ash palm oil, elephant spot tree fruit ash oil, pine seed bright ash elephant spot tree oil, etc. These trees are called by the local Li people.
Tattooing is done by older and experienced women. Most of them are relatives, grandmothers, mothers, sisters, aunts, aunts and so on. In the process of tattooing, we should first choose an auspicious day, and the chief scribe will hold a ceremony to kill chickens, pour wine and make sacrifices, and report the names of the recipients to the ancestors to protect peace. The hostess swept the floor with leaves, saying that it was to drive away "evil spirits" and hung leaves on the door to show taboo and not let outsiders in. In addition to the master and the recipient's mother, two or three women who have finished tattooing must be invited to participate in the tattooing procedure. After the successful essay writing, the longan leaves should be boiled and washed, and the parents of the recipients should kill chickens or pigs, and hold a banquet to celebrate the beautiful face given by the Lord to the recipients. The master and daughter are well paid, some are two sunshine, a handful of rice, and some are paid for a cow. If the writing fails, it is blamed on the disturbance of ghosts. The family members of the recipients should beat gongs and drums, kill their ancestors and worship ghosts, and pray for their ancestors to give the tattoo a beautiful appearance.
Tattooing is usually performed by a performer dipping a tree stick or chicken feather in dye first, and then tattooing. There are also a few skilled performers who do it directly without drawing a plan. When tattooing, the performer holds the rattan thorn in one hand and the needle bar in the other, and pierces along the pattern line. The rattan pierces the skin, wipes away the blood, and immediately applies dye to the wound. After the wound healed and scabbed, there was a blue pattern that never fell off. Some of them have to repeat the perforation two or three times to make the pattern clear.
Tattoos are mostly chosen during the dry season and festivals. At this time, the climate is generally dry and cool, and the wound is not inflamed, suppurated and easy to heal. At this time, people will not be late for work. Tattoos of Li women began at the age of 6-20, and most of them started at the age of 10- 15. According to incomplete statistics, 40% of women started tattooing at the age of 13 or 14, and nearly 20% started tattooing at the age of 16 ~ 18. After the age of 20, the proportion of tattoos is very small. But no matter what age a woman starts tattooing, she almost finished tattooing before getting married.
There is no special place for female tattoos, and they are usually carried out in the "boudoir" where women live or at home. No one is allowed to watch the tattoo except female relatives or girlfriends. In some areas, there are tattoos in front of the door, so people or men are not allowed to watch them.
Tattoos are also tattooed in a certain order: face, back, chest, legs and hands. The pricked pattern is characterized by its rich circles and curves. The tattoo process from face to toe is carried out separately and in stages for several years, which can alleviate or reduce the pain.
As for the meaning of tattoo schema and morpheme, it is very complicated, and it is still impossible to decipher its connotation. Generally speaking, these patterns composed of points and lines, such as double-line dot patterns, geometric line patterns and fountain patterns painted on cheeks, are called "blessed souls" patterns; The pattern painted on the upper lip is called "Geely" pattern, and the pattern painted on the lower lip is called "Duofu" pattern; The double-line pattern drawn on the wrist in the arm pattern is called "peace" pattern; The copper coin pattern painted on the arm is called "wealth" pattern.
Draw "Tian" patterns, patterns, spring patterns, etc. Physically, it is called "arrogance" (more money and more children). Double lines, laurel leaves, betel nut trees, etc. Is drawn in the leg pattern, which is a "protective" pattern. These spring patterns, double-line stippling patterns and geometric patterns are considered to "bless the soul", while double-line patterns, leaf patterns and betel nut tree patterns can "protect the body", which contains cultural significance and shows the uniqueness and richness of national thinking.
In these profound cultural accumulations, we can vaguely realize that women are displayed in the lines of the body and have inner prayers; It is through these schemata that the ancient people tattooed the psychological expectation and pursuit of life ideals from generation to generation with dotted artistic compositions, encouraged people to live bravely with the aesthetic factors of schemata, and met the challenges of real life with optimistic ideals. At the same time, the profound aesthetic view of Li nationality is manifested in the symmetrical beauty of elements and the rhythmic beauty reflected by the mutual cooperation of lines and points.
In the historical process of Li nationality's survival and development, tattoos are rich in content and have a long history, which makes the ancient national culture more profound!