Shomi, founder of India Ink Archive, spends his time travelling around India doing traditional hand-poked tattoos and documenting them as Shlo Poke. Straight outta Mumbai, he tells us about what he’s seen in this life, and what we should (maybe) be thinking about in the next…
How did people tattoo before modern equipment became widely used?
Tattooing has very simple requirements really, you need some ink, you need something sharp, and you need some skin. So back in the day, people would use what’s available to them. In India they used the thorns from the pomelo tree, or agave cactus. And the ink used to come from soot. Then you used that with a carrier that had antiseptic properties like cows milk, breast milk or urine. Over the years as things evolved and sewing needles came into the market in India, people started using them.
How do you manage people being in pain?
The goal is change. And I guess the pain of change. In a lot of communities beauty and aesthetics is always a big reason for getting tattooed. I mean, if you look at all the tattoos, especially in India, the designs are beautiful. It’s not just something that’s done only to bear the pain and come through that experience.
What is a reason for a tattoo that you hear often?
One of the biggest beliefs in India, is that tattoos are the only things that will follow you into the afterlife. All of your worldly belongings, all your jewelry will be left behind, but the tattoo is something that will carry forward with you. And a lot of people believe that tattoos will help you recognize your family members and your friends in the afterlife as well.
Is there an image that always pops up?
A scorpion is something that I’ve seen in almost every community. I’ve seen different designs that come from Gujarat and Rajasthan, to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It would be interesting to research the migration of communities and the tattoo designs that they took with them.
How does using a traditional style lend itself to reaching out to people?
While I was traveling in Kutch in Gujarat, I met with some women in a small village. One of the ladies told me that her daughter and her daughter-in-law didn’t have any tattoos and she was very keen for me to tattoo both of them with a single dot just below their knee. The reason for this was that if you got that tattoo, then it would make sure that you are not born as a camel in your afterlife.
Images by India Ink Archive
And if you'd like to go deeper, watch The Tattoo Daughters of Tharu, a beautiful short film exploring the ancient tattoo traditions of the Tharu women living along the Nepal–India border, where tattooing serves as both a rite of passage and a marker of identity. Watch the film on Nowness.
