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Tribal tattoos have been been practiced in one form or another for
millenia. While the practice may be somewhat different nowadays there
are still many who get tribal tattoos for reasons which could be
described as neo-tribal in their quest to belong to a ‘tribe’ (either
neo-tribal or traditional) even if it is on a subconscious level. Most
simply get tribal tattoos because of their striking appearance.
Historically getting tattooed was seen as a rite of passage into
adulthood. A belief goes that if a girl can’t take the pain of
tattooing, she is un-marriageable, because she will never be able to
deal with the pain of child birth. If a boy can’t deal with the pain he
is considered to be a bad risk as a warrior, and could become isolated
from the tribe.

Some primitive tribes use tattooing as a rite of social status. The
Maori peoples of New Zealand use tattooing primarily for this purpose.
To the Maori, a person’s Moko designs enhanced their prestige and show
transition from one social status to another. At its highest level,
Moko designs proclaimed the sacredness of chieftainship.

An offshoot of Maori tattooing for health is tattooing to preserve
youth. Maori girls tattooed their lips and chin, for this reason. When
an old Ainu lady’s eyesight is failing, she can re-tattoo her mouth and
hands, for better vision.

The Hawaiians are prominent among people who have specific tattoo
gods. In Hawaii, the images of the tattoo gods are kept in the temples
of tattoo priests. Each tattoo session begins with a prayer to the
tattoo gods that the operation might not cause death, that the wounds
might heal soon, and that the designs might be handsome.

In the 1970’s, American tattooing discovered primitive, tribal
tattoos. People wanted simple designs with meaning and they began
copying Polynesian tattoos primarily from the islands of the South
Pacific. In the past few decades, people of westerners began looking
for tribal tattoos of their own origins and created a new form of
tattoo commonly known as neo tribal. Many old school American
tattooists will tell you…

source: http://offbeatink.com/general/tribal-tattoos-are-chic-for-many-reasons/