News Sicanje, an Ancient Balkan Tattoo Tradition, Draws a New Generation
News Sicanje, an Ancient Balkan Tattoo Tradition, Draws a New Generation
Nov 22 2024, 2:35 PM
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/sicanje-traditional-balkan-tattoo
Quote:For millennia, women adorned their daughters, and sometimes sons, with symbols of belonging and protection. Then the practice vanished—until now.
Quote:For millennia, women in what is now Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina performed sicanje—the word means, literally, “to prick”—on their daughters. Using needles and a mixture of soot, spit, honey, and breast milk, the tattooing tradition covered the hands, chest, and sometimes forehead with deeply symbolic patterns. In the 1920s, anthropologist Edith Durham wrote that sicanje had passed from one generation of women to the next for nearly 4,000 years.
Quote:“People like me grew up with it, with a lot of [tattooed] great-grandmothers, but it’s unusual for most people to see,” says Maracic. “It was a true treasure getting to know each and every woman we interviewed. I hope I gave the opportunity to other people to know these women and learn about our traditions.”
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Atlas Obscura, November 16 2022.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/sicanje-traditional-balkan-tattoo
Quote:For millennia, women adorned their daughters, and sometimes sons, with symbols of belonging and protection. Then the practice vanished—until now.
Quote:For millennia, women in what is now Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina performed sicanje—the word means, literally, “to prick”—on their daughters. Using needles and a mixture of soot, spit, honey, and breast milk, the tattooing tradition covered the hands, chest, and sometimes forehead with deeply symbolic patterns. In the 1920s, anthropologist Edith Durham wrote that sicanje had passed from one generation of women to the next for nearly 4,000 years.
Quote:“People like me grew up with it, with a lot of [tattooed] great-grandmothers, but it’s unusual for most people to see,” says Maracic. “It was a true treasure getting to know each and every woman we interviewed. I hope I gave the opportunity to other people to know these women and learn about our traditions.”
Kozlik's regular member account. 🍀🐐