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Tribal Tattoos and Body Art of Iraq and the Middle East, Including Henna, Piercing, Branding & Kohl
Vol. 3 in Phoenix & Arabeth's
Tribal Bible series on
Ancient and Tribal Tattooing
[Click on image to see larger]
Tribal Tattoos
and Body Art of
I R A Q
and the
Middle East
(includes Henna, Kohl, Scarification,
& Branding)
Available ONLY from Phoenix & Arabeth
Excerpts | Sample Illustrations
ORDER
Phoenix & Arabeth's latest book in the Tribal Bible series contains over 150 pages of text, plus more than 50 pages of illustrations --- hundreds of authentic designs spanning the entire Middle East from Morocco to Afghanistan, with a special emphasis on Iraq. Meticulously researched, this volume draws heavily on ethnographic materials collected in the Middle East by doctors and anthropologists, primarily in the early 1900's, as well as contemporary sources.
Methods, motivation and function of the tattooing are discussed thoroughly. Magico-spiritual and medicinal/therapeutic tattoos are illustrated and described, as well as the purely decorative ones.
There is important information on the differing & often identifying types and motifs used by the tribes of diverse areas. Very little of this intriguing and sometimes stunningly beautiful style of tattoo work has ever been seen in the West before. The book includes significant sections describing the related practices of piercing, branding, henna and kohl in this part of the world.
The tattooists in these areas are by tradition most commonly women, who often have arcane and unusual techniques and lore ascribed to their tattoo procedures and designs. In some areas, for instance, the breast milk of a mother nursing a girl-child (only) is used to mix the ink for an efficacious curative tattoo.
Generally tattooing is extremely frowned upon and forbidden to Muslims, but the tribal body art is far, far older than Islam, and thus still persists. Saddam Hussain himself has at least one tribal protective tattoo on his hand. By recent decree tattoos are done punatively on the forehead in Iraq to mark criminals, especially those who have had Sharia-judgement amputations. Law-abiding veterans of the Iran-Iraq war, amputees themselves, insisted upon a distinction being made.
Phoenix & Arabeth have created a definitive book on the ancient Middle Eastern tattoo melieu. It is volume number three of the Tribal Bible.
200 pages, large 8.5 x 11" page size
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Tribal Tattoos and Body Art of Iraq and the Middle East, Including Henna, Piercing, Branding & Kohl
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