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Tattoo History - Borneo
Borneo
The biggest of the Big Sunda Islands of Indonesia is almost five times bigger than England and Wales together making Borneo the third biggest island on the planet right after Greenland and New Guinea. The inland is barely made accessible and is mostly swamps, rain forest and mountains. Therefore a big part of the native tribes and clans still have no contact to the outside world. Borneo is one of the few places in the world where the traditional culture of the natives, especially the tatau, is kept for over thousand years.
Clans like the Dayak, Ibans, Kayans or Kenyahs, whose forefathers must have already been native to Borneo over 50.000 years ago according to archaeological findings, still live like in the stone age. Their tatau technique is similar to the hammer and needles on sticks technique of the polynesians what made researchers believe the tatau also was brought to Borneo by stone age travelers who populated the pacific ocean. Far into the 19th century Borneo was completely unknown the the western world. In 1912 the british explorers Charles Hose and William MacDougall were the first to record a very detailed insight in the live and the rituals of the natives with "The Pagan Tribes of Borneo". Their records were also the first to mention a variety of tatau motives on Borneo. Over the next ten years the british conquerors tried to expel the native customs but it never happened. The tatau is deep rooted in the spiritual, ritual and social live of the Borneo tribes.
The Iban, for instance, connect the tataus with courage and battle and tataus in the neck are an evidence of the wearers masculinity. For the Dayak the hand tataus is a status symbol, for successfully earning money with head hunting, during their lifetime and after death the decoration dispersed the darkness through which the soul must wander in order to reach Maligang, the river of death. When reaching Maligang the soul can only safely cross the river on a log if it able to show the tataued hand. If the hand is not tataued the log with the soul falls into the river and maggots will take care of the rest.
In addition to their tataus, the tribe of the Kayans pierce and stretch their ears and other parts of their bodies. Penis piercings are very common. The penis is therefore clamped into a vise and a nail is pushed through close below the glans. Later on the nail is replaced by a small stick called "Palang", made out of bones or wood, with buttons on each end and lots of men have even two of those speers. With the piercing, particularly the sexual sensations of both partners shall be enhanced.
