Vietnam

Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country whose peoples developed different traditions of tattooing, dress and jewellery. Coastal stories and highland body markings belong to separate parts of that history.

One traditional story tells of a ruler of Van Lang who instructed people to mark themselves like water creatures before entering rivers. The designs were meant to help keep them safe. It is an explanation handed down in a story, rather than a proven starting date for tattooing.

Historical accounts describe dotted facial markings among some Bru people and stylised animals or figures among Katu communities. Their appearance and meaning differed between groups.

Clothing, ornaments and hairstyles add other ways to express identity. Soldiers, religious figures and people from different regions appear in the portraits. The variety matters: no single tattoo or costume represents all the peoples and periods brought together under the name Vietnam.