{
 "schema": 1,
 "id": "tattooing",
 "type": "practice",
 "names": {
  "name": "Tattooing",
  "native": "สักยันต์",
  "script": "Thai",
  "lang": "th",
  "said": "sàk yan",
  "aliases": [
   "sak yant",
   "yantra tattooing",
   "សាក់យ័ន្ត",
   "ສັກຢັນ"
  ]
 },
 "region": [
  "mainland-sea",
  "island-sea",
  "ancient-egypt",
  "balkans",
  "east-africa",
  "andes",
  "pacific"
 ],
 "countries": [
  "TH",
  "KH",
  "LA",
  "MM",
  "PH",
  "ID",
  "EG",
  "BA",
  "ET",
  "PE",
  "NZ"
 ],
 "facets": {
  "stage": "make",
  "era": "ancient",
  "status": "living",
  "restricted": "limited"
 },
 "text": {
  "what": "The charm put into the skin, where it cannot be dropped, stolen, sold or taken off. A long needle drives ink under the surface in a design that is often script — Pali phrases in Khom, Khmer, Lao Tham, Shan, northern Thai or Tai Lu letters, wrapped around animals and deities. The bearer carries the object and the obligations together, because in several of these traditions the tattoo works only while its rules are kept.",
  "story": "Sak yant names its own mechanics. Sak, from a Proto-Mon-Khmer root meaning to prick, is a native Khmer word — Chuon Nath's 1967 dictionary holds that it is not a loan from Sanskrit or Pali — and yant comes from Sanskrit yantra, from yam, to hold or sustain, plus tra, instrument. The practice originated in the Khmer Empire around the ninth century, on indigenous mainland Southeast Asian animist tattooing that the cited account traces back as far as 2,500 BCE, with the designs drawn from Indian yantras. It runs today in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and parts of Burma, and the script changes with the country: Khmer in Cambodia, Khom in central Thailand, Shan or northern Thai or Tai Lu in the north, Lao Tham in Laos.\n\nWhat the tattoo is said to do splits three ways in the tradition's own account: effects that benefit the bearer, such as making them more eloquent; effects that ward off evil and hardship, taken up by soldiers, police, taxi drivers and people in other jobs they judge dangerous; and effects on other people, such as invoking fear. The same designs are applied to cloth and metal and put in a house, a temple or a vehicle instead of on skin.\n\nElsewhere the mark is the membership. Many Copts have the cross tattooed on the inside of the right arm at the wrist as a sign of faith. Catholic Croats in Bosnia used sicanje, tattooing, for protection against conversion to Islam under Ottoman rule. Ancient Egyptians tattooed dedication to a deity, and the marks were held to carry divine protection. Among Austronesian societies tattoos were regarded as magical wards against evil spirits and illness as well as records of raids and status, and the Chimu of coastal Peru wore them for magic and medical purposes; tattoos on Chancay bodies of around 1250 CE have been studied with lasers by researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.\n\n*Inference —* the tattoo is the limit case of everything else in this atlas. Every other charm here can be lost, pawned, inherited or buried; this one is disposed of only with the person. That is also why it is the practice most tightly governed by rules attached to the bearer rather than to the object.",
  "how": "Public structure only. A master applies the design with a long needle, in a rite that the tradition holds transfers spirits into the design — in the words of the cited study, spiritual tattooing functions as the bridge between the wearer and gods or wild spirits. The practice is defined by strict rules meant to maintain the tattoos' power, and the tattoo confers its powers only so long as the bearer observes those rules and taboos, such as abstaining from a certain type of food. What the master says, and which design is given to whom, are the master's, and this record stops there.",
  "today": "Both a living practice and a trade selling to visitors. Hollywood attention has moved the market: Angelina Jolie was tattooed by Ajahn Noo Kanpai with Old Khmer script sak yant in Thailand, and took a Bengal tiger yantra in 2004 to mark acquiring Cambodian citizenship. Buddhist images and figures used as tattoos by visitors who do not follow local rules about the respectful display of such images have caused public controversy in Buddhist countries. Both of those are arguments the traditions are having about themselves, and this atlas reports them rather than settling them."
 },
 "dating": {
  "period": "prehistoric mainland Southeast Asia to the present; as yantra tattooing, from the ninth century",
  "from_year": -2499,
  "to_year": null,
  "living": true,
  "label": "c. 2500 BCE to now; sak yant from c. 800 CE",
  "method": "art-historical",
  "circa": true,
  "tier": "cited",
  "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
  "note": "The earlier year is the cited account's statement that indigenous mainland Southeast Asian tattooing dates back as far as 2,500 BCE; that claim carries no site or excavation in the source read here, so it is flagged for verification. The ninth-century date for yantra tattooing in the Khmer Empire is the firmer one."
 },
 "object": {
  "form": "tattoo",
  "materials": [
   "ink",
   "skin"
  ],
  "worn": [
   "skin",
   "chest",
   "upper-arm",
   "head"
  ],
  "made_by": "a master of the tradition; in mainland Southeast Asia an ajahn or a monk who holds the lineage",
  "inscription": "geometric yantras, animals and deities, with Pali, Khmer or northern Thai phrases",
  "script": "Khmer, Khom, Lao Tham, Shan, northern Thai, Tai Lu",
  "single_use": true,
  "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing"
 },
 "restricted": {
  "note": "The words a master says over a tattoo, and the rules governing which design goes to which person, are held within the lineage. The cited account records that the practice is defined by strict rules intended to maintain the tattoos' power and that the power holds only while the bearer keeps taboos the master sets. This atlas prints that structure and does not print the formulae, the assignment of designs, or anything that would work as instructions.",
  "who_says": "the sak yant lineages as described in the cited account of yantra tattooing",
  "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing"
 },
 "against": [
  {
   "harm": "weapons",
   "who": "bearers in dangerous trades — military personnel, police, taxi drivers and others — as summarised in the cited account",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "bad-luck",
   "who": "the tradition's own account of the three effects: benefit to the bearer, protection, and effect on the people around them",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "spirits",
   "who": "Austronesian societies, where tattoos were regarded as wards against evil spirits and illness",
   "source": "s:wp-tattoo",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "illness",
   "who": "the Chimu of coastal Peru, who wore tattoos for magic and medical purposes",
   "source": "s:wp-tattoo",
   "tier": "cited"
  }
 ],
 "kin": [
  {
   "to": "sak-yant",
   "as": "the object this practice makes, and the one case in this atlas where object and owner cannot be separated",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "coptic-cross-tattoo",
   "as": "the same needle used for membership rather than power — a cross at the right wrist",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "yantra-plate",
   "as": "the identical design put on metal or cloth instead of skin, and hung in a house or a truck",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "to": "thai-wicha",
   "as": "the tradition that holds the lineages, the rules and the refusals",
   "rel": "tradition"
  },
  {
   "to": "skin",
   "as": "the material, which is also the wearer — the reason this practice has rules no object needs",
   "rel": "material"
  },
  {
   "to": "ink",
   "as": "what carries the writing here, as it does on paper and parchment elsewhere in this atlas",
   "rel": "material"
  },
  {
   "to": "consecration",
   "as": "the same transfer, with a person instead of an object on the receiving end",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "to": "inscribing",
   "as": "the writing step, done with a needle and at the bearer's expense",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "to": "what-this-atlas-does-not-print",
   "as": "the page that explains why the rite, the formulae and the design assignments are missing from this record",
   "rel": "story"
  }
 ],
 "links": [
  {
   "label": "Yantra tattooing — Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yantra_tattooing"
  },
  {
   "label": "Tattoo — Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo"
  }
 ],
 "sources": [
  "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
  "s:wp-tattoo",
  "s:wp-coptic-cross",
  "s:wp-yantra"
 ],
 "provenance": {
  "default": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing"
  },
  "fields": {
   "dating": {
    "tier": "cited",
    "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
    "note": "the 2,500 BCE end of the range is the source's assertion with no site attached; treat it as unverified"
   },
   "text.how": {
    "tier": "cited",
    "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
    "note": "structure only — the guarded material is named in `restricted` and written nowhere in this record"
   },
   "text.story": {
    "tier": "cited",
    "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
    "note": "the closing paragraph is this project's reading and is marked where it appears"
   }
  }
 },
 "images": [],
 "x_commons_files": [
  "File:Sak Yant tattoo.jpg",
  "File:Coptic cross tattoo.jpg"
 ],
 "confidence": "medium",
 "needs_verification": true,
 "updated": "2026-09-16",
 "blurb": "The charm put into the skin, where it cannot be dropped, stolen, sold or taken off.",
 "region_terms": [
  {
   "key": "mainland-sea",
   "name": "Mainland Southeast Asia",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "island-sea",
   "name": "Island Southeast Asia",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "S",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "ancient-egypt",
   "name": "Ancient Egypt",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ],
   "note": "Nile valley and delta, Predynastic through Roman Egypt"
  },
  {
   "key": "balkans",
   "name": "The Balkans",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "east-africa",
   "name": "East Africa and the Horn",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "S",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "andes",
   "name": "The Andes",
   "hemi": [
    "S",
    "W"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "pacific",
   "name": "The Pacific",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "S",
    "E",
    "W"
   ],
   "note": "Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia"
  }
 ],
 "hemispheres": [
  "E",
  "N",
  "S",
  "W"
 ],
 "kin_out": [
  {
   "to": "sak-yant",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Sak yant",
   "as": "the object this practice makes, and the one case in this atlas where object and owner cannot be separated",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "coptic-cross-tattoo",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Coptic cross tattoo",
   "as": "the same needle used for membership rather than power — a cross at the right wrist",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "yantra-plate",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Yantra plate",
   "as": "the identical design put on metal or cloth instead of skin, and hung in a house or a truck",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "to": "thai-wicha",
   "type": "tradition",
   "name": "Thai wicha",
   "as": "the tradition that holds the lineages, the rules and the refusals",
   "rel": "tradition"
  },
  {
   "to": "skin",
   "type": "material",
   "name": "Skin",
   "as": "the material, which is also the wearer — the reason this practice has rules no object needs",
   "rel": "material"
  },
  {
   "to": "ink",
   "type": "material",
   "name": "Ink",
   "as": "what carries the writing here, as it does on paper and parchment elsewhere in this atlas",
   "rel": "material"
  },
  {
   "to": "consecration",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Consecration",
   "as": "the same transfer, with a person instead of an object on the receiving end",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "to": "inscribing",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Inscribing",
   "as": "the writing step, done with a needle and at the bearer's expense",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "to": "what-this-atlas-does-not-print",
   "type": "story",
   "name": "What this atlas does not print",
   "as": "the page that explains why the rite, the formulae and the design assignments are missing from this record",
   "rel": "story"
  }
 ],
 "source_list": [
  {
   "id": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Yantra tattooing",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yantra_tattooing",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-tattoo",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Tattoo",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-coptic-cross",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Coptic cross",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_cross",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-yantra",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Yantra",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yantra",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  }
 ],
 "tiers": {
  "text.what": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing"
  },
  "text.story": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
   "note": "the closing paragraph is this project's reading and is marked where it appears"
  },
  "text.how": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
   "note": "structure only — the guarded material is named in `restricted` and written nowhere in this record"
  },
  "text.today": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing"
  },
  "dating": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
   "note": "the 2,500 BCE end of the range is the source's assertion with no site attached; treat it as unverified"
  },
  "object": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing"
  }
 },
 "primary_image": null,
 "tag_facts": [],
 "recognition_facts": [],
 "acclaim": 0,
 "against_facts": [
  {
   "key": "weapons",
   "label": "Blades and bullets",
   "gloss": "invulnerability charms; reported, never recommended",
   "who": "bearers in dangerous trades — military personnel, police, taxi drivers and others — as summarised in the cited account",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "bad-luck",
   "label": "Bad luck, unspecified",
   "who": "the tradition's own account of the three effects: benefit to the bearer, protection, and effect on the people around them",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-yantra-tattooing",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "spirits",
   "label": "Ghosts and hungry spirits",
   "who": "Austronesian societies, where tattoos were regarded as wards against evil spirits and illness",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-tattoo",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "illness",
   "label": "Illness",
   "gloss": "sickness in general, where no cause is named",
   "who": "the Chimu of coastal Peru, who wore tattoos for magic and medical purposes",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-tattoo",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  }
 ],
 "material_facts": [
  {
   "key": "ink",
   "label": "Ink",
   "kind": "written"
  },
  {
   "key": "skin",
   "label": "Skin",
   "kind": "organic",
   "note": "the tattooed charm"
  }
 ],
 "worn_facts": [
  {
   "key": "skin",
   "label": "In the skin",
   "group": "body",
   "note": "tattooed"
  },
  {
   "key": "chest",
   "label": "On the chest, under the shirt",
   "group": "body"
  },
  {
   "key": "upper-arm",
   "label": "On the upper arm",
   "group": "body"
  },
  {
   "key": "head",
   "label": "On the head",
   "group": "body"
  }
 ],
 "form_fact": {
  "key": "tattoo",
  "label": "Tattoo"
 },
 "holding_facts": [],
 "span": "2500 BCE to now",
 "country_names": [
  {
   "iso": "TH",
   "name": "Thailand"
  },
  {
   "iso": "KH",
   "name": "Cambodia"
  },
  {
   "iso": "LA",
   "name": "Laos"
  },
  {
   "iso": "MM",
   "name": "Myanmar"
  },
  {
   "iso": "PH",
   "name": "Philippines"
  },
  {
   "iso": "ID",
   "name": "Indonesia"
  },
  {
   "iso": "EG",
   "name": "Egypt"
  },
  {
   "iso": "BA",
   "name": "Bosnia and Herz."
  },
  {
   "iso": "ET",
   "name": "Ethiopia"
  },
  {
   "iso": "PE",
   "name": "Peru"
  },
  {
   "iso": "NZ",
   "name": "New Zealand"
  }
 ],
 "kin_in": [
  {
   "from": "bes-amulet",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Bes amulet",
   "as": "the practice that put him on the thighs of New Kingdom dancers and musicians",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "coptic-cross-tattoo",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Coptic cross tattoo",
   "as": "the practice, and the reason this charm cannot be taken off, sold or inherited",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "sak-yant",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Sak yant",
   "as": "the practice itself — hand-poked with a sharpened rod, under a master's hand",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "thai-wicha",
   "type": "tradition",
   "name": "Thai wicha",
   "as": "the practice that holds the lineages, the refusals and the annual renewal at Wat Bang Phra",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "skin",
   "type": "material",
   "name": "Skin",
   "as": "the practice that makes it, from cut-and-rub to hand-tapping to a machine at 80 to 150 strokes a second",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "consecration",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Consecration",
   "as": "consecration with no object at all: the words go over skin, and the rules stay on the person",
   "rel": "parallel"
  },
  {
   "from": "yant-flash",
   "type": "art",
   "name": "Yant flash",
   "as": "the practice the sheet exists to serve, needle and all",
   "rel": "practice"
  }
 ]
}