The Niksat on the men’s gum is called Guramayle. What differentiates it from the women’s is that the whole length of the gum is not tattooed, just a part of it. In Tigray, Gondar, and Gojjam, it’s not only the women who get Niksat on their gums. Having darker gums is one criterion of beauty in the rural areas of Ethiopia. The traditional gingival tattoos are famous across Ethiopia, even to this day, especially in the countryside. Young women get the Niksat not only administered on their skins but also on their gums. As the Niksat tradition is mostly practiced among Christian communities, the decorations mainly contain varying images of the cross. Girls in Tigray and Gondar have similar symbols tattooed while those in Gojjam have their own particular designs. The commonly executed tattoo patterns differ from place to place. Spectacular is the tattooed cross on your forehead, When the Niksat is done beautifully, it becomes the talk of the locality, with shepherds applauding the Nekash in their songs: However, the current fare for traditional Niksat is 100 to 500 ETB (2 to 10 USD). Yelfign says the Nekash was paid in kind for her deed: “Grains and coffee beans were preferred items of payment.” This was half a century ago. The tattooed girls don’t go out to the sun for two weeks and keep the tattooed part of their body tied with a clean cloth to avoid unwanted reactions.
:strip_exif()/i/2000630733.jpeg "colorcross tatoos for women")
But once it’s done properly, it doesn’t fade easily, staying with the woman until her old age. The girl may need to go to the Nekash for two consecutive days to complete the process.
#COLORCROSS TATOOS FOR WOMEN SKIN#
The Nekash then rubs the skin with diluted soot or fine charcoal powder and keeps piercing the skin with 3 to 5 needles tied together until the color is imprinted into the skin and the intended effect emerges. As there’s no anesthesia, she’s made to drink a local liquor called Areki (it’s common for young adults in rural Ethiopia, especially in the north, to take alcohol), to withstand the pain with diminished awareness. When a young girl goes to the Nekash, she takes several needles with her. The pretext is that the girl will not get a husband if she doesn’t decorate her face with the conventional patterns of Niksat. Young girls, who are not adolescents yet, are encouraged - sometimes even forced by their mothers - to get the Niksat. Yeshihareg died 15 years ago at the age of 85. For that, she was favored by many,” she explains. Those who went to her didn’t feel much pain. Yelfign says that there was a popular Nekash in Gondar called Yeshihareg Ebabu. When a Niksat is imprinted beautifully, the bearer was admired as well as the Nekash for her skills. They were respected professionals known as Nekash. When the practice was in its prime, half a century ago and beyond, elderly women were the people tasked with carrying out the Niksat. “I’m happy I get to engrave my mother’s picture on my skin.
He told us that he’s grateful modern tattoos exist. Only unruly kids get them done on their bodies,” says Yelfign Matebe, an elderly woman in Gondar, sad that the old tradition is dying out.Ī young man we found getting his late mother’s photo tattooed says otherwise. There’s a fear among the elders in Gondar that the traditional artistry is getting lost. This practice is now being considered outdated by the youth as they are adopting modern tattoo designs and crafts. Young girls, particularly in the northern regions of Ethiopia such as Tigray, Gondar, and Gojjam, get Niksat drawn on their faces, necks, gums, and hands. Niskat, an age-old practice in Ethiopia, should be thought of as a kind of body art like tattooing.
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