Mo Naga recreate tribal tattoos in a contemporary style for younger generation

November 16, 2013, Guwahati:

Mo Naga unravels the truth behind the tribal tattoos of the region
To recreate tribal tattoos in a contemporary style for the younger generation

One year back, he opened Guwahati's first professional tattoo studio cum school, and embarked on a journey towards the revival and promotion of the region's rich art and cultural heritage through tattoos. Today, after months of travelling and research through the various states of the north east, Mo Naga returns to Guwahati. He carries with him numerous unpublished stories, photos, videos disclosing the truth behind the misinterpretations about the age old tribal communities and the signature tribal art of the Naga headhunters, the Apatanis and more.

At a recently conducted press meet in Guwahati, Mo Naga reintroduced an ancient, yet unique way of passing on our knowledge and identity to our future generations- tattoos. Mo also introduced a new logo that is a perfect representation of his mission to revive and restore the tribal tattoos of the region to its original glory.

As a Naga youth growing up in Manipur, Mo noticed that though the tribes of north east have a very unique form of body art, yet the stories behind this form of art has never been published or projected to the outer world. The few stories that have been circulated about the Nagas and the Apatanis, have portrayed a twisted or misinterpreted version of the truth. Hence, after gaining substantial popularity and success in Delhi as a tattoo artist Mo decided to return to his roots and delve into the depth of all the information on tribal art and tattoos through an extended research trip in the easternmost corner of the country.

Today, Mo Naga is a man on a mission- a mission to dig out the old and blend in the new. Mo has found out the significance of various tattoos sported by the tribal communities, many of which have never even been recorded. He is recreating these motifs in a more contemporary style so that they can be sported by the present generation to proudly represent their rich cultural heritage.

Speaking on the occasion, Mo Naga said, "A Naga tattoo has always been mark of achievement in the headhunting clans. A headhunter used to get a tattoo whenever he demolished his enemy and successfully collected his head. The more the number of heads he collected, the more tattoos he got on his body. For a woman, different stages of life- puberty, marriage, motherhood, used to be marked with a tattoo of achievement. But with the onset of Christianity and the ban on headhunting, these tattoos lost their significance. I want to revive this form of art and restore it to its old glory."

Mo further added, "I envision a day when a Naga tattoo will once again, be seen as an internationally recognized benchmark of achievements and Naga beauty. I believe, the day is not far when people from all around the globe will be flying in to the easternmost corner of India to mark their various achievements with a Naga tattoo symbolizing his triumph in life."

On the occasion, Mo also spoke about the various misconceptions that have been thriving in the absence of proper information about the significance of the tribal tattoos of the region. Besides, many motifs have never been portrayed or published anywhere before. During his research trip to Arunachal Pradesh, Mo had the opportunity of meeting the Chief Priest of the Apatani tribe and he came to know that the history of the Apatani women have, very unfortunately, been distorted to their utter disadvantage. Apatani women are known for sporting nose studs and facial tattoos. The common notion prevailing in the contemporary Arunachali society, particularly the Apatanis, is that the women were forced to wear tattoos to make them ugly so that the enemies from neighboring tribes would not abduct them. However, the Chief Priest informed him that this is a heresy theory, a false understanding of Apatani history resulting from lack of proper research.

Mo narrated a story he heard from the Chief Priest- about a beautiful and skillful girl called Ami Nwdo Bunyi, who was unable to get a groom. As per the advice of the Apatani God Popee she started wearing nose studs, ear rings and wore tattoos on her face to become more beautiful and was able to attract a handsome groom for herself. As a result, all the young Apatani girls started wearing ear rings, nose studs and tattoos on their faces.

Mo says, "The learned priests of the Apatanis, the Chief Priest himself, and other scholars express their dismay as to how a symbol of beauty came to be considered as ugliness. They were all clear that there is only one story behind the tattoos adorned by the Apatani women and that is the foresaid one. Apart from the learned few, the current generation has no knowledge of the real meaning of the tattoos. Even many of the women who have the tattoos are unaware of its proper significance. I want the entire world to know the true stories behind the tattoos of the region, just as we know about the tattoos of the Polynesian and the other South Asian countries today."

Taking Mo's mission a step further, Headhunters' Ink will organize a 3 day educational seminar cum workshop at the Academy Hall, Kohima from 21st to 23rd November, 2013. He will speak on the topic, "Naga Tattoo Art and Culture - The forgotten stories of our ancestors". His initiative has been supported by the Directorate of Art and Culture, Nagaland and will be hosted by The Dream Catchers, Nagaland.

"With my research, I am now trying to give back the knowledge that I have earned back to my society. I plan to create a series of patterns inspired from the region's tribal art and culture, but with a contemporary twist. Each new motif that I design from the primal pattern will carry with it the rich legacy that it represents. When someone gets a tribal tattoo now, he will not do it just because he likes the pattern, he will do it because he knows the story behind it", Mo Naga concludes.

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