MUNDURUCU
Every mark tells a story.
A face traced with curves. A body crossed by lines. An animal carried on the skin. Tattoo designs turn the body into a place of identity, beauty and belonging.
Across the world, tattooing has expressed ancestry, status, achievement and spiritual beliefs. A mark might recognise a stage of life, a family connection or an individual history. Its meaning belongs to a particular tradition: a similar shape does not necessarily tell the same story elsewhere.
“Not one great country can be named, from the polar regions in the north to New Zealand in the south, in which the aborigines do not tattoo themselves. This practice was followed by the Jews of old, and by the ancient Britons. In Africa some of the natives tattoo themselves, but it is a much more common practice to raise protuberances by rubbing salt into incisions made in various parts of the body; and these are considered by the inhabitants of Kordofan and Darfur ‘to be great personal attractions’. In the Arab countries no beauty can be perfect until the cheeks ‘or temples have been gashed’.”
Charles Darwin · The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex · 1871, vol. II, p. 339
Read the historical source ↗
Darwin’s passage captures his fascination with the worldwide variety of body ornament. It also combines tattooing with scarification: tattoos place pigment beneath the skin, while scarification creates patterns through healed scars, sometimes raised above the surface. The two can serve related purposes, but they are different practices.
His words reflect nineteenth-century terminology and the travellers’ reports he used. The sweeping claims about whole regions and ancient peoples are historical assertions, rather than a complete account of their traditions. What remains compelling is the idea that beauty can take very different forms—and that a permanent mark can be valued as much as jewellery or clothing.
At Mundurucu, portraits, photographs and pattern drawings bring these differences into view. Māori facial designs, Ainu lip tattoos, Borneo’s tattoo traditions and the geometric patterns of the Pacific each invite a closer look. Historical images preserve remarkable details, while also carrying the perspectives and interpretations of their makers.
These traditions have changed, endured and been revived. Explore the faces and patterns below, then follow each culture link to discover more of its visual history.