The first time I ever saw someone getting a branding was in a small local tattoo shop in Leeds. This wasn't your run of the mill place; there was no sign outside, no advertising and a no loitering policy that was held in place by something called "The Persuader". That wasn't a person but rather a large sledgehammer that had seen more than it's fair share of use. The smell of singed flesh was something that stuck with me for a long time, that's really not something that passes quickly, much like burnt popcorn, it hangs in the air and seeps into everything. What seemed like a barbaric process turned out to be something that was utterly cathartic for the person in the chair. He hand designed the metal pieces that were heated and pressed into his flesh over the course of an hour, all the while talking about his family history and the meaning of the symbols. I've never delved into the underground world of scarification, branding and implants but like to read about the subjects; these aren't things that we do at our shop but we get questions about them from time to time and I'd feel rather silly if I couldn’t answer them.

Spiritual Tattoo: A Cultural History Of Tattooing, Piercing, Scarification, Branding, And Implants

One of the artists at the shop, Slick Tommy, has been obsessed with penile implants for about a year. This wasn't to increase the size of his manhood but rather to "decorate it" [those are my words, not his, I am sure he will slap me for saying that]. He studied the process that was done hundreds of years ago and never passed up an opportunity to bring up the subject in casual conversation. Until I read this book I assumed that Slick Tommy was stuck in some weird body modification funk; to the naked eye he looks like a normal guy but when he starts taking off his clothes, well, let's just say, he has enough metal in and on his body to set off a sensitive metal detector. Two months ago he went on vacation and came back with a series of plastic and metal balls inserted in his penis. Morbid curiosity beckoned me to say, "let me see!" but I restrained myself and waited for the digital pictures to come out of the printer. Much like the process described in the book, Slick Tommy had almost the same thing done.

Topics of ritual scarification, brandings and implants aren't things that usually come up in conversation when you are having dinner with friends, that is unless you are having dinner with a bunch of tattoo junkies. Being someone who has never had an implant [well, at least this type of implant], branding or had any scarification work done, there are times when I feel a little left out of the loop. Sort of like the kid that is out of the clique at school but doesn't pass up the opportunity to tip my ear to pick up the gossip. That, in a very tiny nutshell, is what this book was for me. A way to read about the historical views of the subject matter as well as the reasons why people have it done. This was written by John Rush, a cultural anthropologist, and gives even seasoned veterans of the body modification crowd a few lessons on the subjects covered. This isn’t what I consider light reading; you can't just pick it up and start flipping through it without getting lost.

One subject that comes up a lot is pain. Some fear it, some thrive because of it and others use it as a cathartic means of purging themselves of guilt. Tattoo junkies say that they "get off" on the pain factor but for most it is another type of addiction. Whether you are looking at pain as something that is unwanted or something that you crave, if you have enough cash and search long and hard enough, you will be able to find someone that will be willing to do just about anything to your body. Of course that may mean traveling to another country or risking serious infection but those are things that are insignificant to those who seek one of the ultimate highs. Again, I am on the outside looking in but this book has given me a lot of useful and valuable information that I've been, in turn, able to use to better understand my co-workers and friends who are into this scene. Slick Tommy called me a hypocrite one day when I took a few jabs at him about his nipple piercings. "You have yours pierced, a nipple is a nipple". My only retort was to quote Robert De Niro from "Meet The Parents" about male breast milking.

The title of the book may lead you to think that this is solely about tattoos but it covers so much more than that. Those who study religion may want to give this book a read because it does incorporate a lot of spiritual themes into it. The six chapters of the book flow almost effortlessly; moving from the first one so aptly titled, "Scarification and Tattooing: A Cultural History of Pain" to "Pain, Suffering And Redemption" you might think that this is a completely morbid view of the subject matter but it isn't, at least to me it wasn't. For those into history there are a lot of quotes that will surely pique their curiosity; one of my favorites was from [of all places] the Christian Bible; "The witness shall throw the first stone, and then all the people shall join in. In this way you will purge all the evil from among you" [Deuteronomy 17:7]. Sure there are a lot of quotes from bibles and holy books but there are also more than a few from more modern folks. I was really amazed when I came across the mention of The Ghost City [Fengdu, China]; this was one of the first places that I had read about ritual scarification in regards to self redemption but the author took what I thought I knew about it and greatly increased my understanding of it. I would try to explain things like the Four Diamond Kings and the Four Kings of Hell but that would take another thousand words and I doubt anyone would stay awake for my interpretation of it.

The Bottom Line

I would be remiss if I didn't mention some of the stranger points that this book presented. One that still sticks with me involves removing the finger of a dead man and inserting it into his anus. This wasn't a punishment for a crime but rather a way to ensure that the impotence that he experienced during his life would be reversed when he was reincarnated. Then there is the stunning image of Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist monk that set himself on fire to protest religious and government involvement in his religion. But by far the one that still sends a slight shiver down my spine is the "Execution of Hallaj" [pages 161 and 162]. This wasn't something that was filled with a bloody retelling of an ancient tale but rather a story that makes you stop and think of the power of ones destiny and will power. It would be impossible for me to pick out a section that I liked more than others because each of the chapters has its own character and feel to it, suffice it to say, it is something that you just have to read to understand how much information is in it.


As always, thanks for the visit…

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2006 Freak369


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Recommended: Yes