Tribal tattoo designs are patterns used in the tattoo traditions of different peoples around the world. They can show identity, beauty, family ties or achievements. There is no single tribal style: each tradition has its own history.

Look at a Māori face, an Ainu woman’s mouth tattoos or the lines across a Mundurucú warrior’s body. The marks change how a person looks, but they can also say something about who that person is. A pattern may connect someone to a family, a place or a stage in life.

Tattooing often takes time and courage. Artists tap or stitch pigment into the skin, building a design one mark at a time. Scarification creates patterns through healed cuts instead. Both decorate the body, but they are different practices.

Charles Darwin was struck by how widely people decorated their bodies. His nineteenth-century account brought together tattooing, scars and very different ideas of beauty. A mark admired in one community might look unfamiliar to a visitor.

These images show faces, bodies and designs from many places and periods. Some traditions have continued, others have changed or been revived. A similar shape can carry a different meaning elsewhere, so follow the culture links to meet the people behind each pattern.