“The transformative nature of tattoos:

Exploring the role that religious and memorial tattoos play in

bereavement.”

Submitted In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the

Degree of MSc in Transpersonal Psychology and
Consciousness Studies, University of Northampton

Alexander Wilson
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Alexander Wilson
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"This dissertation is an account of my own work undertaken as a student in

the University of Northampton, Division of Psychology and it includes
nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration. No part of this
dissertation has been or is being submitted for any other degree, diploma
or other qualification at this or any other University and
specific acknowledgment is made in the text where I have availed myself
of the work of others"

Word Count : 14,471 (excluding quotes and references)

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Contents

List of figures and tables 4

Abstract 5
Introduction 6
Literature review 8
The history of the tattoo 8
The origin of the tattoo 8
Tattoos in society 9
Trends in tattoo research within academia 10
Tattoos and religion 14
The Judeo-Christian view on tattoos 16
Why do people get tattooed? 17
Who gets tattooed? 17
Why do people get tattooed? 18
Bereavement in the memorial process 19
The grieving process 20
Metaphor 20
Ritual 21
The memorial tattoo 22
In summary 24
Methodology 25
Method for the study 27
Sample 27
Participants 28
Location 28
Interview 29
Ethical considerations 29
Analytic approach 30
Method of analysis 30
Validity and researcher reflexivity 31
Discussion and analysis of data 34
Imagery 36
Reminder 37
Metaphor 41
Experience of Consciousness 48
Suffering 49
Change to waking state 52

Conclusion 58
Limitations and further study 59
References 61

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List of Figures and Tables

Table 1 Preliminary Questionnaire Page - 34

Table 2 Themes Page - 35

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Abstract

Tattoos have grown in popularity in the West at a rapid rate in the last 20
years or so (DeMello, 1995, 2000). With this, the prevalence of memorial
tattoos in our society has increased as tattooed people lose the stigma
attached them. Much of the previous research on tattoos is focused on
deviancy and criminality, ignoring the experience of the tattoo itself. The
purpose of this study is to bring a focus to the experience of tattoo and
question the transformative effect tattoos have – to explore the role
memorial tattoos play in bereavement. Interviews of 5 participants were
analysed through interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) concluding
that tattoos are a valid mourning ritual and could be interpreted as a
technique to facilitate an altered state of consciousness and mindfulness.

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Introduction

Literature on tattoos appears in a variety of forms, from scholarly journals

of anthropology, psychology, history and sociology to newspapers, gossip
magazines and internet social media. Through a historical lens, these
literary forms share the marginalisation of tattooing in modern Western
society in which the tattoo is seen as part of a deviant subculture rather
than a topic of genuine intellectual interest. Fisher (2002) reminds us of
other academics involved in tattoo research referring to the attitudes of
colleagues as a ‘deviant interest in deviance’.

Times are changing though – progress is slow, but it’s happening. Tattoos,
the tattooed and tattoo culture, removed from deviance, is increasing both
in popularity and frequency in modern culture. They have steadily grown
into the mainstream in Western society for the last 20 years or so
(DeMello, 1995, 2000). Celebrities are celebrated all too much in the west
as a whole, but the tattooed celebrity is less of a symbol of deviance and
drug addiction as it once was. Tattooed musicians and heavily tattooed
athletes take centre stage in popular culture and not judged for young
audiences in much of the popular media as deviants. These markings have
grown to transcend boundaries such socioeconomic status and gender
(DeMello, 2000; Forbes, 2001).

This change though is not reflected in academia with much of the research
into tattoos still focusing on the negative personality traits of the tattooed.
There is wealth of papers focused on tattoos as an indication of cultural
deviance – documenting that people with tattoos regularly engage in
criminal behaviour, substance abuse, promiscuous sexual habit, eating
disorders, suicidal tendencies and psychopathy (Mun et al, 2012; Carroll
et al, 2002; Deschesnes, Fines & Demers, 2006; Preti et al., 2006; Roberts
& Ryan, 2002; Manuel & Sheehan, 2007; Featherstone, 1999; Firmin et
al., 2008).

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However, Manuel & Sheehan (2007) found no significant relationship
between tattoos and markers of deviance. Leading them to conclude that
tattoos can no longer be considered deviance markers. Very few papers
addressed the idea that perhaps those who regularly engage in criminal
behaviour, substance abuse, promiscuous sexual habit, eating disorders,
suicidal tendencies and psychopathy are drawn to become tattooed
because of the stigma and marginalisation of the tattooed. Bell (1999)
suggests that the heavily tattooed have embraced marginalisation. The
tattoo therefore is used as form of communicating the self with other
marginalised individuals. Rather, the marginalised have embraced tattoos.

It is important to note that this stigma does not derive from academia. In
fact, the castigation of tattoos in academia is simply a reflection of society
as a whole. Though tattoos are increasing in popularity over recent years
(very recent in fact), naturally, not everyone is convinced that they are no
longer symbols of the deviant, the wilful sinner and the underclass. This
doctrine is a symptom of the history of religion – due to the rise of
dominance of monotheistic Judeo- Christian religion, cultures that
embraced the tattoo as religious ritual were labelled as barbarian - and
Western civilisation. Some people will still cross the street to walk past
you.

The growth in popularity of tattoos is leading to more people being

tattooed as the stigma attached to them continues to fall. People get
tattooed for a variety of reasons: rebellion, group membership, self-
expression of individuality and marking milestones for life or death
(Christensen, 2000) or just because they wanted one (Forbes, 2001;
Armstrong et al., 2000). More people are choosing to memorialise their lost
loved ones with tattoos. The practice is so prevalent that I would argue
that being tattooed should be considered a mourning ritual.

From the history of tattooing in religious ritual and the prevalence of

memorial tattooing in modern society, I would argue that tattooing, as
process could be transcendent in that the art of tattooing facilitates an
altered state of consciousness. This paper focuses on the experience of the

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tattooed during memorial or religious tattoos to better understand the
transformative nature of tattoos.

I will first outline the history of tattoos, placing them in context within our
society and discuss in greater depth the reflection of the societal
perception of tattoos within academia. Then, I will divert my attention to
the direct link between tattoos and religion, explaining further the societal
implications this link has had and how this affects our perception of
tattoos. I will then concern myself with memorial tattoos and focus on the
experience before explaining the method of inquiry behind this study and
presenting the analysis of the data collected.

Literature Review

The history of the tattoo

I will begin reviewing the literature by discussing the origin of what we

would now call tattoos, as well as discussing trends in the research into
tattoos reflective of societal and historical attitudes towards tattoos. In
order to achieve this, I will briefly outline the known history of tattooing
and place tattooing within the cultural framework I am writing this study
from. My hope is to shed light on tattooing as a process as well as show
academic attitudes towards tattoos.

Origin of tattoos

The word tattoo derives from the Tahitian ‘tatu’, which means ‘to mark’.
The two sons of the God of creation, Ta’aroa, taught the art of tattooing –
according to Tahitian mythology – to humans as a sacred art form. Tattoos
were etched into the skin by highly trained Shamans (tahua) as a religious
ritual (Scheinfeld, 2007).

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Placing tattoos in history, archaeologists have discovered a variety of
tattoo instruments in Europe dating as far back as 40,000 years ago
(Scheinfeld, 2007). In addition to this, tattooed Pazyryk mummies have
been found in the High Altai Mountains in western and southern Siberia
dating around 2400 years old. The tattoos found on the mummified
remains represent a variety of animals, griffins and monsters representing
a magical significance as well as some purely decorative designs
(Scheinfeld, 2007).

Scheinfeld (2007) writes of the discovery of the remains of a 5300-year-

old Neolithic iceman in the Italian Alps – evidence that tattoo practice
predated prior discoveries by more than 1000 years. It is often speculated
that the tattoos that adorn the body of the man are personal symbols,
rather than identification marks as the placement of the marks on his body
would have them obscured by his clothing. Some – Scheinfeld (2007)
claims – believe that the marks correspond with acupuncture points and
so, speculate that the tattoos could indicate some form of treatment for
pain or illness as well as the religious and spiritual significance some
anthropologists have always maintained tattoos have.

Tracing tattoos through history, the civilisations of Egypt provide the

earliest evidence of tattoos – with many claiming evidence for tattoo
practice during the time of the construction of the pyramids (Gilbert, 2000;
Rush, 2005). This practice then would have spread with the expanding of
the Egyptian empire to the civilisations of Crete, Persia, Arabia and Greece
(Scheinfeld, 2007; Gilbert, 2000; Rush, 2005).

Tattoos in society

The Greek word ‘stigma(ta)’ is believed to actually indicate tattooing as the

root ‘stig’ means to ‘prick’ (Jones, 2000) – the technique by which tattoos
were applied to the skin before the invention of the tattoo machine by Sam
O’Reilly between 1870 and 1890 (Sanders, 1989). This word was then
transmitted to the Romans. Jones’ (2000) argument clearly states that
‘stigma(ta)’ is read as the modern English equivalent to ‘brand’ in Christian

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literatures. This though, he insists, is separate from the universal animal
branding which is not designated by the word ‘stigma’. Fisher (2002) uses
Jones’ argument to consider the current meaning of the word ‘stigma’ in
modern English presenting the idea that the meaning of stigma today may
come from the ancient art of tattooing – as a combination of the process of
tattooing and its literal interpretation.

As tattooing was practiced long before the ancient Greeks, they were
familiar with other cultures that practised the art form we would now refer
to as tattooing. Jones (2000) suggested a familiarity with tattooing as a
social aspect – as marks of high status or simply as cultural decoration. He
also suggests that the Greeks associated such marks with uncivilised
barbarians and never embraced the practice themselves; at least not as
marks of religious, spiritual or social high standing.

As the Greeks associated the marks with their rival neighbours, tattoos (or
stigmata) were used for visually marking ‘others’ such as slaves and
criminals as the association with uncivilised societies greatly degraded the
social importance of the marks within Greek culture (Fisher, 2002). This
negative association towards tattoos was then naturally passed to the
Romans, who used tattooing as a state control mechanism (Gustafson,
2000). This link between tattooing and criminality and deviance continued
throughout Western civilisation from this point – as shown even in recent
times in academia.

Trends in tattoo research within academia

The mainstreaming of tattoos in Western society has steadily increased

over the last 20 years or so (DeMello, 1995, 2000). Particularly in North
America and Europe, the popularity tattoos hold has steadily increased –
transcending traditional boundaries such as socioeconomic status and
gender (DeMello, 2000; Forbes, 2001). Perhaps predictably then, the
interest in tattoos and the tattooed from a psychological perspective has
ballooned in recent years.

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Tattoo research within academia has suffered towards studying tattoos
through specific cultural lenses – shaped by the perception of tattoos (and
the tattooed) at the time. There are a great number of papers focused on
tattoos as an indication of cultural deviance (Aizenman & Jensen, 2007;
Grumet 1983), as well as how tattoos can influence the perception others
have (Armstrong et al, 2003; Armstrong, 1991. More recently, there have
been researchers interested in the relationships between the self and
tattoos (Featherstone, 1999; Preti et al., 2006; Firmin et al., 2008).

As a marker of deviance, it has been documented that people with tattoos

engaged in criminal behaviour, substance abuse, promiscuous sexual habit,
eating disorder, tendency toward suicide and psychopathic or anti-social
personalities (Mun et al, 2012; Carroll et al, 2002; Deschesnes, Fines &
Demers, 2006; Preti et al., 2006; Roberts & Ryan, 2002; Manuel &
Sheehan, 2007). Much of this evidence has suggested that tattoo
possession is also associated with a variety of other risk taking behaviours
such as the use of alcohol and drugs – illegal substances, sedatives and
anti-depressants. In fact, Koch et al. (2010) have suggested that those
with a greater number of tattoos are significantly more likely to use
marijuana on a regular basis, more likely to sporadically use other
substances and more likely to have an extended history of criminal arrests.
Researchers concerned with how tattooed people are perceived have
generally found that tattoos are stigmas (Mun et al, 2012), which has been
found to be more of a problem for tattooed women – as Armstrong et al
(2008) found that the primary reason for the removal of tattoos by
women, was the negative responses received from others.

However, not all researchers have found the connection between tattoos
and deviance. No relationship between deviance and tattoos was found by
Manuel & Sheehan (2007), with no significant difference between tattooed
and not tattooed participants for seven measures of deviant behaviour.
Tattoos have become mainstream and are no longer markers of deviance
(Manuel & Sheehan, 2007).

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The emergence of tattoos into popular culture has altered the perception of
the tattooed – so far that Horne et al (2007) found that 60% of men in
their study viewed tattooed women as attractive, compared with a similar
71% of the women in their study finding tattooed men attractive. In the
light of the prominence of tattoos as well as a change in societal
perceptions, tattoos are considered to be symbolised identities or outward
expressions of the self (Horne et al, 2007; Atkinson, 2003; Pitts, 2003;
Kosut, 2000; Tiggemann & Golder, 2006). Tattoos can now be viewed as a
visual communication of the self (Kosut, 2000) - documenting a
discernible, permanent representation of the self at the time of marking.

Some scholars have focused on why people acquire tattoos (Armstrong et

al., 2004; Benson, 2000; Sweetman, 1999). Armstong et al. (2004)
suggest that some tattooed individuals use tattoos to portray specific
identities visually, by drawing attention to their body. The tattoo then,
could be considered as a means of self-expression.

Mun et al (2000) explains that the process of obtaining tattoos – as well as

the meanings behind them – are multilayered and very complex. Tattoos
can hold personal meanings, obvious public meanings, spiritual meanings
or hold no significance to the owner at all. Shimp (2010) defines meanings
as internal responses held for external stimuli. Multiple meanings can be
applied to the same tattoo as found by Mun et al (2000) – who note the
five key themes arising from their research as a connection to the self, life
events, relationships, spiritual and no assigned meaning.

Some studies have suggested evidence that tattooed people score higher
on measures of extraversion and other traits related to extraversion – such
as attention seeking (Drews et al., 2000). However, highly regarded
studies have found insignificant findings in these areas – protesting any
differences between tattooed and non-tattooed individuals (Forbes, 2001;
Tate & Shelton, 2008; Manuel & Sheehan, 2007). No consensus has really
been reached when attempting find psychological differences between the
tattooed and the non-tattooed. For example, Roberti & Storch (2005)
found that tattooed individuals score higher on tests for depression,

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whereas Fredrick & Bradley (2000) found otherwise – noting that tattooed
individuals actually scored lower than their non-tattooed counterparts. Tate
& Sheldon (2008) suggest that the relationships between personality and
whether an individual is marked with tattoos or not reflect insignificant
differences in the real world between those individuals. The individual
being tattooed or not therefore, is inconsequential.

Swami (2012) suggests that studies of personality differences in tattooed

and non-tattooed individuals is thriving, yet studies of this nature have to
this point suffered a number of limitations. These types of studies often
have an over-reliance on university students – which is not representative
of a wider population, especially considering their socio-economic
demographics (Swami, 2012). A further criticism of studies of this nature is
that they have a tendency to combine sparsely and heavily tattooed
individuals into a homogenous group, missing possible differences in
personality and attitudes between the two (Swami, 2012; Sweetman,
1999). Finally, Swami (2012) notes that the differences between tattooed
and non-tattooed individuals could be a result of becoming tattooed –
suggesting that the experience of being tattooed (either the process of
tattooing itself or being an openly tattooed person in society) has a
transformative element to it.

The pervasiveness of research on the personality differences between

tattooed and non-tattooed individuals could just be a manifestation of a
negative view of tattoos in society – as spread through the course of
history as I explained previously. I believe that religion in the West has
much to do with this doctrine. The decline of religion in the West
corresponds with the rise in popularity and decline in negative perceptions
of tattoos. However, as mentioned earlier tattoos have traditionally held a
spiritual place in society and therefore are inextricably linked with religion.

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Tattoos and Religion

In this section, I will continue along the previous train of thought linking
tattoos with religion – a link that has been successfully made in a number
of anthropological, theological and psychological publications (Scheinfeld,
2007; Jones, 2000; Fisher, 2002). The once sacred and respected
permanent marking of the body was at one time reserved for the most
privileged, but the role that tattoos play in religion has changed
dramatically over time. Tattoos and other body modifications have been
considered undesirable for most of recorded history. This is at least the
case for most of the recorded history for monotheistic religions, as we
know them today. In this section, I will discuss tattoos and religion –
touching on spirituality and marking from a variety of different religious
perspectives.

Populating the Indian states of Bihir and Madhya Pradesh, The Ramnamis
belong to the caste of untouchables and use tattoos as an expression of
their spirituality (Scheinfeld, 2007; Schmalz, 2004). They retain their
tradition of tattooing the name ‘Ram’ in Sanskrit over their bodies in a
practice called ‘ankit’ (Schmalz, 2004). This practice even appears in the
mouth – on their tongues and inside their lips (Scheinfeld, 2007; Schmalz,
2004). The belief behind the practice is that the tattoos will protect them
from harm because of the unique nature of their marks, which cover close
to all of their bodies. These tattoos are now considered more of a display of
devotion than protection against harm, as the numbers of Ramnamis today
has dwindled to around 1500 (Scheinfeld, 2007).

Scheinfeld (2007) maintains that Hinduism is the religion that most

employs tattoos as devotional tools. It would seem that tattoos are most
commonly used in religious contexts among polydeists as opposed to
monotheist belief systems. The Maoris zealously believe that a spirit would
recognise their detailed facial markings after their death and passing
through the portal of the next world. They believed that the spirit would
grant them sight and the ability to find their way to the next world.

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This belief is similar to that of the Dayak tribes of Borneo who tattooed
their hands in the belief that they would give light in the darkness of the
next world. They also believed that their tattoos would grant their soul
permission – by Maligang, the guarding spirit - to cross the river of the
dead.

In Alaska, Inuits have small dots placed on a variety of joints on the body
by shamans under the belief that these marks will protect the wearer from
evil spirits on their journey into the afterlife.

In these examples, the tattoo acts as a kind of dog tag that enables the
soul to be identified before passing into the afterlife – without this, the soul
is destined to exist in a limbo state of the afterlife, finding no peace
(Scheinfeld, 2007). While the connection between tattoos and the afterlife
seems to be a reoccurring theme, so too is the belief that tattoos act as
protection – as with the Ramnamis.

A variety of different cultures regard tattoos as protection against evil or

harm. In these cases, the process of being tattooed is part of a religious
ritual (Scheinfeld, 2007). This practice is also common in the
predominantly Islamic Middle East, despite the practice of tattooing being
condemned in the Qur’an. Tattoos have been used to place dots on the tip
of children’s nose to protect against illness and disease.

In Asia, traditionally Buddhist countries have housed strong beliefs in the

protective powers of tattoos (Scheinfeld, 2007). The Thai in the belief that
these texts posses power and magic commonly tattoo Buddhist texts. An
initiation rite of passage called the ‘Krob Kru’ has devotees offer devotional
gifts and prayer before the sacred text is tattooed onto the torso and
extremities. Then, a shaman will expose each mark to 3 or 4 sword blade
blows. The tattooed individuals have been said to fall into a state of
ecstasy, passionate trances or even burst into forceful illusory states
(Scheinfeld, 2007). This clearly demonstrates that the application of

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tattoos in religious rituals is a transcendent experience worth study in of
itself.

The Judeo-Christian view on tattoos

The Judeo-Christian view of tattoos is one of great debate and

interpretation- partly because of the popularity and frequency in modern,
Western culture. Judaism and Catholicism have maintained a view of
outlawing tattoos based on a single verse from Leviticus (Scheinfeld,
2007):

“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the
dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Leviticus
19:28

The veto of tattoos in these religions – similarly to the societal origins of

distaste in tattoos explained earlier – is related to the use of tattoos by
opposing religions at the time. Scheinfeld (2007) uses the example of
Judaism opposing the Egyptian tattooed cult of Baal and Christians
apposing the cult of Isis.

However, tattoos and some body modifications were accepted by the

Crusaders as well as late 19th Century European royalty (Fisher, 2002;
Forbes, 2001). Crusaders would often display crosses tattooed on their
hands (Nagle, 2009). Interestingly, some early Christian support and
converts came from branded Roman slaves – as mentioned earlier, Roman
slaves and criminals were often tattooed to indicate their place in society
(Scheinfeld, 2007). In modern times, the church has defined and redefined
its policy on tattoos, with some now claiming that tattoos worn to honour
God and bring witness to his glory bestowed rewards in heaven.

Tattoos have an ancient and holy history, linked globally with religions of
the East and of the West. The rise and dominance of monotheistic religions
has led to the decline of the tattoo and contributed to the castigation of the
tattooed as deviants and immoral wrongdoers. But in recent times, this

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rich history has increased in popularity amongst both the devoutly religious
and the secular alike. The rite of ‘Krob Kru’ as explained by Scheinfeld
(2007) demonstrates that the use of tattoos in religious rituals is a
transcendent experience. This transcendent experience (if indeed there is
one) of being tattooed is lost in much of the academic research into
tattooing in modern Western society and is not explored in any depth.
Though the method of tattooing has been radically medicalised, differing
greatly from the religious rites of passage mentioned above, the
experience of being tattooed is still important – perhaps especially to those
being tattooed in memory of loved ones or in dedication to their beliefs. It
is for this reason that this study will place the experience during the
application of tattoos as an important focus – especially relating to the
application of religious and memorial tattoos to better understand the
nature of the tattoo experience.

Why do people get tattooed?

This section is concerned with why people get tattooed, as well as who gets
tattooed. Traditionally the religious, the criminal, the enslaved and the
deviant make up the tattooed members of society. This is not strictly true
though. Tattoos have gained popularity all over the world, but particularly
in the West. The culture of tattoos is gradually unifying with the untattooed
as they flourish in popularity. Western society as we know it now is more
diversely marked than it has ever been.

Who gets tattooed?

The role of tattoos traditionally in religion and spiritual practice is clear

from the previous section but this doesn’t really answer for who gets
tattooed. A change in the perception of people with tattoos has taken a
long time and will probably never result in a total lack of disapproving
judgement based exclusively on the markings deep in someone’s skin. That
being said, the perceptions are different and tattoos in the modern West

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have not been reserved for a delinquent underclass for a long time –
tattoos are gaining in popularity. This could be linked to the decline in
traditional monotheistic religions the West. Coupled with that is the steady
rise in popularity of Eastern religious practices – somewhat adapted for the
West – which traditionally have shown an affinity for skin-deep markings.

Individuals from a variety of different socioeconomic backgrounds, of all

sizes, ages and skin tone are being tattooed at an increasing rate
(Armstrong 1991). Tattoos can be used as a symbolic tool to form identity.
They can also be used as a very effective method of expressing said
identity – perhaps more effective as fashion or the latest haircut. Tattoos
can vary much more than these mediums and can outright show an
individual’s identity for the world to see. They can honour family, romantic
interests, display religious or political beliefs, or cement an association with
certain groups – as in gang tattoos for example.

Bell (1999) suggests a differentiation between those with tattoos and

tattooed people. Expanding on this, those with only a few personal images
strategically placed somewhat out of sight are said to be people with
tattoos. On the other hand, tattooed people have many larger tattoos –
often with more elaborate designs and colouring – in locations that can be
seen by others. It is at this point that they have reached a point where
they can socialise within the subculture of other heavily tattooed people
and embrace marginalisation (Bell, 1999). While this view does appear to
hold some cultural weight, this perception is radically changing. This is
partly because of the increased popularity of tattoos in general, as well as
the increased number of heavily tattooed celebrities and athletes.

Why do people get tattooed?

Christensen (2000) suggests a number of reasons why people choose to

get tattooed: these include communicating rebellion, expressing group
membership, conveying the self and individuality, displaying spiritual
meaning or significance and marking milestones for life or death.
Displaying spiritual meaning in tattoo form explains those who tattoo

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religious imagery on themselves, perhaps as a reminder of their faith or to
honour their beliefs. Memorial tattoos belong to the latter of Christensen’s
(2000) reasons why people get tattooed: marking a milestone of death.

There are also tattoos that have no meaning to the bearer at the time of
getting the tattoo as the reasons behind the tattoo were simply stated as
‘because they wanted one’– as noted by Forbes (2001) and Armstrong et
al., (2000). These tattoos though, could perhaps be attributed to the
increasing popularity of tattoos and the cyclical nature of tattoos passing in
and out of popularity (as they did amongst the wealthy elite in the 19th
Century).

Tattoos are far more prevalent than they have been in the past. Bell’s
(1999) suggestion of the marginalisation of the tattooed is outdated due
mainly to an increase in the popularity of tattooed individuals. The West is
a culture of celebrity and excess, both of which tattoo culture is a part of.
Heavily tattooed celebrities and athletes are in abundance compared with
just 20 years ago and so, tattoos are steadily losing their marginalised
perception in society. It is because of this, that memorial tattoos have
increased in popularity in recent times (Colson, 1997) as the stigma
attached to tattoos has lessoned. More and more people, from all walks of
life, young and old are having their deepest expressions tattooed and
experiencing the effect of being tattooed. Memorial tattoos are perhaps
common enough to be considered as part of the mourning process for
many people.

Bereavement and the memorial process

Greif is a disputed subject area among many academics from a variety of

disciplines, perspectives and personal standpoints. This has affected
definitions and conceptualisations about what it means to experience loss
(Ord, 2009). There are many different ways to experience and cope with
bereavement, as will be explained in greater detail in this section. I will

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discuss the academic literature around the psychological processes
involved in bereavement and discuss the use of the tattoo in memorial
form as a method of coping with loss. Generally, researchers do not
extensively study tattoos as tools in the grieving process – though some do
make epigrammatic reference to its use (Clerk, 2009; Atkinson, 2004;
Colson, 1997; Sanders, 1989; Grumet, 1983).

The grieving process

So what is the grieving process? Much of the research into grieving

suggests that meaning making through metaphor and rituals are very
helpful to the bereaved in the grieving process (Nadeau, 2008; Castle &
Phillips, 2003; Wyrostok, 1995; Imber-Black, 1991). The use of metaphor
and ritual extends to include the use a symbols (as metaphor). Giving
visual form to an internal experience enables an individual to be better
understood empathetically by someone else (Stepkanoff, 2007). This could
help the bereaved to better ‘make meaning’ of their loss through metaphor
– which is said to provide a therapeutic and deeper understanding of the
experiences of loss. Not only would the use of metaphor – particularly
visual symbolisation – help the bereaved in understanding their
experiences, it would also make the communication and sharing of their
grief easier. This is because metaphor and symbolisation provides less
threatening, simpler language with which to talk about bereavement –
which is particularly useful in therapeutic pursuits (Nadeau, 2006).

Metaphor

As explained above, metaphor is important to the grieving process both in

explaining bereavement to others and dealing with loss internally. Relating
to memorial tattoos is the importance of symbolism as metaphor. As a
grieving ritual symbolism enable the bereaved to externalise their internal
experience of grief (Castle & Phillips, 2003). This is particularly relevant to
memorial tattoos as permanently marking the memorial helps to
externalise their feelings towards the memory of the lost individual. The
possibility of a transformational effect from the tattooing process lends

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itself to this in that the painful experience of being tattooed could add to
the grieving process, helping the bereaved to express their inward feelings
externally – hence the focus of this study on the experience during the
marking as well as the marking itself.

Ritual

So are memorial tattoos a mourning ritual? Memorial tattoos are increasing

in popularity and are often referenced as the motive to get tattooed. Three
important features of mourning rituals arise repeatedly throughout the
literature: that they offer structure, can involve others and provide
metaphor and symbolism (Castle & Phillips, 2003; Wyrostok, 1995; Imber-
Black, 1991; Kollar, 1989). Wyrostok (1995) goes one step further to
suggest that a good ritual includes an altered state of consciousness. An
altered state of consciousness (ASC) can be defined as a change in
conscious experience that is subjective to each individual and differing
from their normal waking state of consciousness (Revonsuo, Kallio & Sikka,
2009).

Structure must be offered to establish a sense of control for the grief

stricken (Castle & Phillips, 2003; Wyrostok, 1995). This control offers the
bereaved the opportunity to take action – and an active role – in their
experience of the grief rather than partake passively.

The importance of symbolism – as explained earlier – lies in the ability of

the bereaved to externalise internal feelings (Castle & Phillips, 2003). This
facilitates remembrance – both of the deceased individual and of their
relationship with the grieving. Externalising with meaning laden symbols
also makes the experience easier to communicate with others – which is
the third important feature of mourning rituals suggested by Castle &
Phillips (2003), Wyrostok (1995), Imber-Black (1991) and Kollar (1989).

Castle & Phillips (2003) suggest that talking about the dead is therapeutic
as it is a process of externalisation. Involving others in the grief process,
particularly using symbols and metaphor to help make the communication

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of feelings easier helps in the grieving process. Reeves and Boersma
(1990) however assert that a mourning ritual can exist with only one
person, providing a symbol of their loss is used. The process of being
tattooed can be interpreted in a few ways. The tattoo process is inclusive
of others because the use of symbolism enables the bereaved to
externalise their internal feelings of grief through the metaphor in the
tattoo imagery and also because the process of being tattooed is not
completely solitary. The tattoo and the experience of the tattoo is shared
with the tattoo artist, though the meaning does not necessarily have to be
known, an intimate bond is shared with the tattoo artist. The importance in
defining ritual throughout the literature appears to lie with the special
meaning attributed to it by the participant – of which, a memorial tattoo
for a lost loved one would certainly have in abundance.

The memorial tattoo

There is a wealth of research into memorial tattoos and their significance

to the experience of the bereaved. With the increase in popularity and
declining stigma attached to tattoos and tattoo culture, the memorial
tattoo is becoming an important mourning ritual for many bereaved
people. Literature into mourning rituals maintain that they a significant
step in the grieving process, offering space and time for the expression of
grief (Imber-Black, 1991). Any rituals honouring the death of loved ones
are therefore valuable tools in the healing process.

Memorial tattoos differ greatly in their design, size and placement on the
body among wearers and can be viewed in relation to two discernable
themes (Colson, 1997). The first of these contains tattoos that are easily
categorised as a memorial – they often contain banners expressing loss
(such as ‘Rest in Peace’, ‘In Memory Of’) and other conventional headstone
motifs. The second theme – according to Colson (1997) is indistinguishable
from meaningless or other tattoos. Only if the wearer explains the
meanings behind the tattoo would it be clear that the tattoo is in memorial
of a loved one.

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Colson (1997) notes that a number of tattooed individuals that were
interview as part of the study waited several months after their
bereavement to memorialise their deceased loved one. Colson (1997)
maintains that this is because the memorial tattoo is a unique, personal
ritualisation of emotions that is separate from the conventional
remembrance obligations family and friends of the deceased experience.

As the memorial tattoo cannot always be distinguished as a memorial at

all, it is part of an ongoing narrative as the wearer is an active part in
telling the story of their loss – or withholding that information should they
choose. It also brings up the subject of symbolism. As mentioned
previously, symbolism is important to the grieving process (Wyrostok,
1995; Castle & Phillips, 2003). The symbols and tattoos of Colson’s (1997)
second theme chosen to memorialise the deceased are chosen based on
the meaning of the image as well as the relationship behind it. This could
mean that the image had some relevance to the relationship between the
bearer of the memorial tattoo and the memorialised. The memorial then,
could be of an image associated with activities that the deceased was once
active in sharing with the bearer of the marking. This could include a
variety of activities, relationships, beliefs and affiliations. The loss is not
only related to the loss of the person. Gone too are the experiences –
which later become a ritualised expression of remembrance (Colson,
1997).

As metaphor and symbolisation make talking about loss easier, it is clear

to see why memorial tattoos could act as a ritual of grief, as well as a
preservative to the memory of relationships shared. This helps to create a
narrative that can be easily shared with others or not – especially in the
case of Colson’s (1997) second theme of memorial tattoos that do not
display the traditional characteristics of memorial symbolism.

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In Summary

The experience of being tattooed in of itself should be probed to discover

the thoughts and feelings of those who have been tattooed and their
transcendent experiences – can being tattooed create an altered state of
consciousness? The historical link tattoos have with religious ceremony
would suggest that they do in some form. Tattoos are medicalised in the
West though, with sterilisation and hygiene taking precedence over the
subjective experience. Academically, the cultural perception of tattoos and
the images themselves have been rendered more important than the
experience of being tattooed. The experience is often lost in the literature
of perception and could well be missing from modern tattooing today as
altering skin pigment is not a ritualised practice as in the religious rites of
passage throughout history. This study focuses on this experience of
tattoos that hold deep meaning to the individual – i.e memorial tattoos and
those of religious significance – to better understand the transformative
nature of tattoos.

This leads me to present the research question:

‘The transformative nature of tattoos: exploring the role that

religious and memorial tattoos play in religion’

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Methodology

This study aims to explore the transformative effects of modern tattoo

practice. The significance of the tattoo to the participant is of great
importance to the study. This research addresses both the significance of
memorial tattoos to the bereaved as well as approaching the phenomena
from a new angle, largely unconsidered in literature on the subject – the
experience of being tattooed. The data collected from this study comes in
the form of the transcribed interviews. This data was subjected to
interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) as found in Smith (2004).

Interpretive phenomenological analysis has its origins as a method of

inquiry in phenomenology and symbolic interactionism – which suggest
that human beings are not passive perceivers of an objective reality
(Brocki & Wearden, 2006). Rather, people interpret and understand their
world by formulating their own biographical stories into a structured form
that resonates with them. The purpose of IPA is to explore in detail, the
processes the individuals use to make sense of their experiences. Looking
at the individual’s account of what they have been through and attempting
to use the assumed universal tendency toward self-reflection is the
medium through which this is achieved (Smith et al., 1997). IPA research
then, has focused primarily on the exploration of participants’ views,
understanding, perceptions and experiences (Reid, Flowers & Larkin,
2005).

Interpretive phenomenological analysis is phenomenological in that its

concern lies with subjective reports rather than objective accounts of
participants’ experience. It is also interpretive in its recognition that
another person’s true experience is neither entirely nor directly accessible
and is therefore, reliable on the interpretation of an individual’s experience
by the researcher (Smith et al., 1999). The term interpretive
phenomenological analysis is therefore used to signify the dual facets of
the approach and the joint reflections from the participant and the

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researcher form the analytic account that is analysed (Smith et al., 1999).
Interpretations then, are predicated on the ability of the participant to
adequately articulate their thoughts and experiences (Baillie, Smith,
Hewison & Mason, 2000) and by the researcher’s ability to analyse this
information.

Semi-Structured interviews are the ideal method of inquiry for IPA – with
the majority of IPA research employing this method (Smith & Osborn,
2003). The interview questions are generally quite open-ended and the
interview style is non-directive (Brocki & Wearden, 2006). An interview
schedule therefore should be used, as a facilitator for the participant’s to
tell his or her own story. Smith et al. (1997) describes this as a central
premise of interpretive phenomenological analysis. The questions posed
should be open ended to allow the respondent control over how the
interview proceeds. Smith & Osborn (2003) suggest the use of ‘minimal
probes’ to promote sharing and help the participant to take the lead in
directing the interview. Minimal probes are simple questions separate from
the interview schedule that reflect a realistic conversation such as ‘how did
that make you feel?’.

Sampling in interpretive phenomenological analysis tends to be purposive

(Willig, 2001) and homogenous as a small sample size can provide enough
perspective of a phenomenon provided there is acceptable
contextualisation (Smith & Osborn, 2003). IPA is selective of participants in
order to address a specific research question so purposive sampling selects
participants based on them meeting a set of criteria that the researcher
wants to explore. It is suggested that the validity of qualitative research
should be assessed in terms of its applicability to similar situations (Holt &
Slade, 2003). However, studies employing IPA rarely aim to obtain a
representative sample of the population (Brocki & Wearden, 2006). Touroni
& Coyle (2002) argue that qualitative research aims to produce in-depth
analyses of small accounts of experience from a specific group rather than
a sample representative of the population. This implies that the conclusions
drawn are to a specific group and any generalisations should be
understood with this in mind.

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Qualitative research adds specific and deeper knowledge to subject areas

through small-scale, detailed studies (Brocki & Wearden, 2006; Touroni &
Coyle, 2002; Turner et al., 2002). IPA was judged to be the most
appropriate approach due to the approaches’ concern with elucidating the
quality and the texture of individual experiences by the participants (Willig,
2001). This approach attempts to understand the personal perceptions
individual’s have about their experiences. IPA is also interpretive in its
recognition that another person’s true experience is not directly accessible
and is therefore, reliable on the interpretation of a person’s experience by
the researcher (Smith et al., 1999). The interview transcripts (see
appendix I) were repeatedly analysed and coded to identify the emergent
themes. These themes were explored and organised – with common
themes and differences emerging from the accounts of different individuals
being analysed and discussed. It is important to understand that when
analysing the data, the coding for the data comes exclusively from the data
itself as apposed to pre-existing theory or attitudes held by the researcher.

Method for this study

As explained previously, the research question for this paper centres on

exploring the transpersonal nature of tattoos in relation to the role that
religious and memorial tattoos play in bereavement.

Sample

The participants for this study were selected using purposive sampling –
whereby participants are selected on the basis that they meet criteria
relevant to the research question (Willig, 2001). Personal characteristics
such as age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socio-economic profile
and religious or political affiliation were not considered in the sample. This
is because the study is interested only in exploring the general subjective
experiences of the phenomenon outlined in the research question, rather
than assuming its occurrence and testing amongst sub-groups.

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Participants

As the study involves the close, detailed investigation into the personal
experience and meaning attribution of the individual, a small sample size
has been used. A pool of 5 individuals was recruited for semi-structured
interview on the basis that they have a memorial tattoo – including
religious memorial tattoos and non-religious memorial tattoos and were
not bereaved in the last 3 months. Identifying potential participants was
achieved using advertisements in tattoo studios in Northampton and
Coventry. A total of 4 studios agreed to advertise the study using posters
(see appendix II) with participants being successfully recruited from three
of the four studios. All participants were tattooed in memorial of a loved
one, with two participants also having a religious tattoo inked on their
body. All participants wilfully volunteered to take part in the study and
were fully briefed – before and after the interviews took place.

Location

Of the 5 interviews for the study, 3 were conducted on the premises of the
University of Northampton. The outstanding interviews were scheduled at
the respective tattoo studios for ease of access and comfort for the
participant. Both of theses studios had spare consultation rooms available
that were used to conduct the interviews. When liaising with potential
participants, ease of access and comfort for them was of the upmost
importance. As one participant felt that they would not be comfortable at
the University, the interview took place at their chosen tattoo studio in
Northampton. Another of the interviews conducted away from the
University of Northampton took place at a tattoo studio of the participant’s
choice, as travelling to the University would have proven particularly
difficult for the participant.

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Interview

The interview schedule (see appendix II) was explored and developed prior
to interviews taking place based on some key discussion points that would
help the participant to share their experiences of the phenomena that was
to be explored. To gain greater insight into the experiences of the
participants, all interviews were of a semi-structured format, roughly
following the interview schedule – though participants were prompted that
they were free to branch off from the structured conversation and openly
share their thoughts and experiences. This step was taken to ensure open
and engaged participation with the interview process. All interviews lasted
between 18 and 37 minutes and were audiotape recorded using digital
recording media into mp3 format.

Ethical considerations

The audio file of each interview was erased once it had been transcribed
verbatim to meet ethical considerations. All transcripts were also
numbered and any names were changed to protect the anonymity of the
participants. Locations named in interviews were changed for the same
reason. Access to data is strictly controlled and encrypted to protect
personal data, complying with the Data Protection Act 1998. No
information is kept that could identify the participant – including all contact
details and liaisons with the participant prior to interview.

The welfare of the participants was treated with the highest importance at
all times before, during and after the interview. A brief and de-brief was
used to inform participants of the aims of the study and their rights to
withdraw. All participants were supplied with contact details for a variety of
organisations that can help with grief and bereavement. No participants
wished for their data to be omitted from the study and no participants
showed difficulty talking about the experiences of their bereavement.

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Analytic Approach

As this research is concerned primarily with the participant and their

experiences, perceptions and beliefs, the focus of the study was on
understanding the context complexity in their meaning making of the
experience of being tattooed in memorial. The focus therefore was
meaning making and experience rather than measuring its frequency of
occurrence. An interpretive relationship with the transcripts was principle in
achieving this (Smith, 2003). The analysis is the interpretive work done by
the researcher at each of the following stages.

Method of analysis

Phase 1

Interview transcripts were analysed according to the principles of

interpretive phenomenological analysis. Each transcript was read, re-read
and deeply analysed word by word to gain better affinity and familiarity
with the data. Once the researcher achieved sufficient understanding,
notes were made and initial themes within the transcripts were identified.
The relationships between the themes of different transcripts were then
examined and master themes were established based on these
relationships. These themes arise from the data as apposed to using pre-
existing theory to identify codes that could be applied to the data.

Phase 2

Transcripts were analysed individually beginning with transcript 1 (‘Dave’)

and colour coded based on their varying themes. Notes were made on each
transcript on several occasions as they were continually revisited
throughout the coding process. Themes arising from the data were
examined in relation to other themes and master themes firmly established
based on this. This list was analysed against non-annotated copies of the
transcripts to ensure their direct relation to the original accounts of the
participants. Themes without much support in the accounts of participants

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were removed from consideration (as suggested by Willig [2001]) to reflect
the true experiences of participants as best as possible, to not rely too
heavily on the interpretation of the researcher. The emergence of these
themes throughout the process of coding and analysing all the transcripts
generated a list of master themes – placed into a table to easily show their
progression and justification of grouping – which captured the quality of
the participants’ shared experience of their memorial tattoos and the
essence of their experience (Willig, 2001).

Phase 3

After further relaying back to original transcript text, both previous phases
of analysis were compared to ensure the full understanding of the
experience. Finally, a table of master themes (sub-ordinate themes) was
detailed.

Validity and researcher reflexivity

In qualitative research, validity is the question of how much of the

researcher’s constructions are grounded in the constructions of participants
and how transparent this is to others (Flick, 2006). There is a need to
consider researcher reflexivity in relation to the formulation of questions
and questioning during the interview process (Langdridge, 2007).

Generally, a researcher could contribute to a particular dynamic that can

influence the responses of participants. Issues with self-presentation,
reticence in expressing thoughts and feelings as well as task demand
characteristics to respond positively to questions could have influenced the
interview answers. However, great care was taken at all times to ensure a
positive, friendly atmosphere to create an environment to support sharing.
This ensured that participants could feel unconstrained and free to share
their experiences, feelings and perceptions.

The participant was always granted the freedom to explore the research
question based solely on their interpretation of it as the researcher made

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no attempt to discuss theoretical assumptions with the participant. No
emphasis was placed on leading the participant to discussing the
experience from a particular viewpoint and the research question was
carefully constructed in that manner – as to prevent demand
characteristics. Participants therefore would not have come to interview to
discuss a belief in the experience of their tattoo that they did not hold to
be their own.

Both annotated and coded transcripts as well as raw transcripts are

included in the appendices to this study (see appendix I). It is clear for any
reader therefore to see the researcher’s interpretation from comparison
with the original non-annotated and codeless transcript. This shows the
transparency of the study and increases its validity.

Seamon (2000) maintains that when conducting interpretive

phenomenological analysis, there is a need for the researcher to have
encountered experiences as directly as possible to that of the participants:
to better immerse themselves in their experience.

In this study, the researcher has both religious and memorial tattoos,
which contributes to relaxing the participant during interview and could
help contribute to creating an environment of comfort for participants to
share experiences and discuss their subjective experiences. However,
though the researcher has religious imagery tattooed on their body, the
researcher is distinctly secular which may separate the perspectives
between the participants and the researcher. It is important to
acknowledge the extent to which the researchers own perspective has
shaped the research. Though I – as the researcher – have taken great care
as to not influence the participant to assume their experience of being
tattooing is transpersonal in of itself, this assumption may be somehow
influenced by my own background and experience of being tattooed. I
have suggested that the experience has some transpersonal ramifications
and so the study is analysed and interpreted in the context of the
transpersonal approach. Different perspectives could have been drawn had
the researcher not been heavily tattooed – as it is fairly safe to assume

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with much of the previous research into tattoos – and different conclusions
drawn if the researcher approached the question from a different school of
thought. However, taking into account Seamon’s (2000) suggestion that
when conducting IPA research, there is a need for the researcher to have
encountered experiences as directly as possible to that of the participants,
the researcher in this study has shared the experience of the participants.

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Discussion and Analysis of Data

This investigation explored the role that memorial tattoos play in

bereavement – with an emphasis on the experience of the tattoo itself. Is
being tattooed a transformative experience? What is the experience of
being tattooed? What role do tattoos play in memorialising a loved one?
Does the experience of being tattooed influence the memorial? The study
involved interviewing 5 tattooed individuals about their memorial tattoos,
religious tattoos as well as their thoughts and experiences of being
tattooed.

Participants were questioned briefly before the interview took place and the
results, tabled as follows:

Participant Percentage (%)

Yes No Not Sure

Are tattooed 100% 0% 0%
Intend to become tattooed 60% 20% 20%
Have a memorial tattoo 100% 0% 0%
Intend to acquire a memorial tattoo 0% 60% 40%
Have religious tattoos 20% 80% 0%
Intend to acquire religious tattoos 0% 100% 0%
Table 1. Preliminary Questionnaire

In relation to the currently known research on bereavement and memorial

tattoos, this study supports the idea that memorial tattoos can be
considered an important mourning ritual (Imber-Black, 1991) and is
therefore a valuable tool in the grieving process. This study is not
concerned with the differences in design between memorial tattoos, though
this was discussed to great length with each of the participants. The area
of importance for this study lied with the meanings behind the tattoos –
which included participants in the study that did not have memorial tattoos

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distinguishable as such by Colson’s (1997) two varying themes of
memorial tattoo. The importance of symbolism in the grieving process is
noted by Wrystok (1995) and Castle & Phillips (2003).

Generally, this study found that symbolising the loss of a loved one
facilitated the sharing of the experience with others. The tattoo made
talking about the loss much easier – in accordance with previous research
on symbolism in the grieving process. Much of the previous research on
memorial tattoos loses the experience when focusing on the types of
people who get the tattoos and categorising the images. It is because of
this that this study has focused on the individual meanings behind the
memorials and the experience of being tattooed – particularly in relation to
the bereavement.

Several themes emerged from this study and were grouped accordingly:

Master themes Themes Sub-Themes

Imagery Reminder On the body
Experience
Metaphor Meanings
Involving Others
Experience of Suffering Physical
consciousness Emotional
Change to Focus
waking state Vehicle for
change
Table 2. Themes

I will now discuss these themes using headings and subheadings before
summarising and concluding the analysis of the study.

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Imagery

Sanders (1988) suggested that tattoos are a form of self-expression – the

implicit and explicit meanings of the tattoos become part of the individual.
This expression of self lies within the imagery of the tattoo. This study
found that participants chose to immortalise certain images on their body
for a number of reasons: memorial, expressions of feelings and popularity
are to name a few. The meanings behind the images were found to
multilayered and complex – with some images holding multiple meanings,
some being subject to change and grow over time. The importance of the
image is also questioned – the desire and the meaning behind the image
outlives the affinity for the image itself. Participants have also explained
the idea that image in their tattoo has no deep meaning to them, but
rather to the person that they are memorialising – so the image takes on a
new meaning.

These images are used as metaphor – which proves very helpful to the
bereaved in the grieving process (Nadeau, 2008; Castle & Phillips, 2003;
Wyrostok, 1995; Imber-Black, 1991). The use of metaphor also involves
others in the experience of grief because the image gives a visual form to
an internal experience – making it easier for someone else to understand
(Stepkanoff, 2007). The image not only helps draw other people into the
experience, but also acts as a constant reminder of the memorial or feeling
that the individual wants to express.

Participants talked about how this is reminder of the loved one they have
lost, the feelings they had at the time of being tattooed and how important
that is in shaping them and also as reminders of the experience of being
tattooed itself if it held particular significance to them. Linked in with this
was the idea of addiction to the experience and why some people seem to
fall in love with tattoos - not necessarily to appear marginalised as Bell
(1999) suggested as some heavily tattooed people still avoid the neck and
hands so they can hide the tattoos.

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Reminder

The idea of the tattoo as a reminder came up a few times, with different
participants. For these cases, the tattoo served as a reminder for
something very important to them. This reminder could be to help
someone to never forget something in their life – be it a person, a
memory, an action and so on. From interviewing the participants though,
the tattoo also serves as a reminder of the experience of being tattooed –
of a joy that comes from remembering the painful experience.

On the Body

Tattoo placement is also very important to the tattoo artist and the
tattooed because a particularly painful place to tattoo would require
shorter sessions with more breaks and an awkward place of the body to
tattoo would change the composition of the tattoo to flow with the natural
curvature of the body. The placement of the tattoo also seems to has
significance to the meaning of the tattoo too:

“my whole left chest is basically for my sister […] she was my big
sister y'know … like a protector kinda thing so i always wanna keep
her close to my heart […] … i knew i wanted to get something to
represent her right next my heart you know.. so she's always close”
(Dave, 39-48)

The image for ‘Dave’ has more association for the person he has lost than
just simply what is tattooed on his body – importance also lies in where it
is and serves as a reminder to him that way. This is very similar commonly
used language in grieving such as:

“it’s a tattoo of a lily, on my right shoulder - it’s watching over me”

(Emily, 26)

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Participants also expressed a desire to have the memory of their loved one
carried around on their body forever. The permanency of the tattoo was
important to several of the participants:

“you can’t forget even for a day when its tattooed on your body
because you can see it in the mirror in the morning… erm… I mean…
yeah, so…it’s always gonna be there.” (Earl, 35-38)

This idea of a constant reminder is reoccurring throughout the interviews:

“but it does remind me how important it is to me because its always

there, forever… like even after i'm dead it's still gonna be there on
my body… they're always with me, good or bad… just like when
mum was here… and i know my [Julie] would have been too” (Dave,
183-186)

In this example the tattoo acts as a reminder of some the things the loved
one used to do for the participant. The participant felt as though they had
lost a support mechanism and the tattoo acted as a reminder of that.
Perhaps even as a reference to the support still being there literally,
though of course it isn’t.

‘Dave’ also referenced getting the memorial tattoo to show himself how
much the relationship with the deceased meant to him. This is an
interesting idea – proving his grief to himself and communicating this to
others. The tattoo acts as proof of the grief, proof that the relationship
between him and his lost loved one is of tremendous importance to him.
He does this when he answers with “… but just to show myself really that
they are still with me somehow…” (Dave, 80-81). This idea of carrying the
loved one with you seems to be a very important aspect of the memorial
tattoo:

“anyone could just carry a photo around or something like that... but
with a tattoo, it just shows a little more I think. Really, it just shows
myself how much she meant to me… that I wanted to mark her on

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my body forever” (Emily, 42-46)

The image behind the tattoo is also related to the deceased in the tattoos
of some people further than associations with activities or shared
experiences. Two participants mentioned selecting an image that the
deceased would have liked – as if further memorialising their experience of
the deceased in tattoo form.

The tattoo can also be utilized as a reminder of the past and the personal
transformations that an individual feels they have to memorialize. ‘Earl’
spoke during the interview about a particularly difficult time in his life in
which he suffered from depression and alcoholism. He believes his spiritual
practice is an important factor in him being able to turn his life around. In
this case, the tattoo serves a reminder of his past and motivation for his
future:

“… erm my forearm is a reminder to me… […]I suffered from

depression and self medicated with alcohol[…]… well, I managed to
help myself and my family through my spiritual practice which at the
time I did think was stupid. But now, I can’t imagine being without
it.” (Earl, 23-27)

Experience

Experience came up in every interview and related to involving other –

which I will mention in depth under the metaphor heading. Participants
often spoke about other people noticing the tattoo, which led me to believe
that there is some significance to the placement of the tattoo. But they
also spoke briefly about their experiences of dealing with others in relation
to the placement on their body. Interestingly, the tattoo – as well as acting
as a reminder of the loved one (as above) – the tattoo acts a reminder of
the experience of being tattooed.

Firstly, I will address the experience of the tattoo being on the body in
relation to others. I know from personal experience the interest tattoos

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bring to you from others and was pleased to know that this is a regular
occurrence to others too:

“..when people without tattoos always ask about yours and grab you
up and stuff (laughs) to have a look at your arm or whatever…”
(Dave, 84-85)

This common occurrence is a result of placement, something that can be

changed right up until the needle first buzzes and the tattoo begins. The
artists know all about the placement of tattoos so it’s not as though you
don’t know that the tattoo will bring attention. So the tattoo itself is a way
of purposefully attracting others to share in your experience – helping the
grieving process (Stepkanoff, 2007). This will be covered in greater depth
as the analysis continues.

This sharing experience does not appear to be considered tedious by the

participants though because it gives them the opportunity to think about
their loved ones:

“… its the meaning behind it that matters cus everytime they ask
what it is and try and look.. i think about my family” (Dave, 87-88)

It also makes the loss easier to talk about when speaking to others though
I will explain this in greater detail under the ‘metaphor’ heading. This
process is called externalisation, which makes it easier to communicate
with others (Castle & Phillips, 2003; Wyrostok, 1995; Imber-Black, 1991;
Kollar, 1989).

“tattoo definitely helps for my mum when someone asks… yeah”

(Dave, 181)

The association the loss with positive memories occurs a few times, with
different participants during the interviews:

“when it shows and I see it in the mirror or something, it does make

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me think about her… which makes me happy” (Emily, 114-116)

The idea that the memorial serves a purpose to remind the bereaved of the
good times is brought up in 4 of the 5 interviews. ‘James’ even used his
memorial tattoo as an opportunity to continue something he related to his
late father:

“we went bass fishing […]… it was always a great thing that we
shared while he was alive so I’ve had it made a permanent reminder
of what we had.[…]
I wanted to carry it always... and even share it… I thinks its funny
and my dad […]would definitely have laughed…[…] makes people
laugh so I remember him in a funny way” (James, 36-49)

The participants are also reminded of the experience of being tattooed

when they see, think or talk about their tattoo and the meanings behind it.
Tattooing is a painful experience – which varies depending on location.

Tattoos also act as a reminder to the process of tattooing itself – whether it

be because it is painful or because of an affinity to the experience and a
desire to remember the sensation of being tattooed.

Metaphor

Metaphor is reoccurring theme throughout the data and serves many

purposes to the tattooed. As tattoos are often images in modern tattooing
practice, visual representation of emotional feeling is assigned to a number
of different kinds of images. Symbolism enables the bereaved to
externalise their internal experience of grief (Castle & Phillips, 2003). The
meanings attributed to the markings vary greatly between participants and
help facilitate remembrance – both of the deceased and of the relationship
or experiences shared between the grief stricken and the deceased. This

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external expression also makes it easier to communicate with others,
which proves to be a reoccurring theme throughout the interviews.

Communicating with others takes a number of different forms relating to

the memorial or religious tattoos. The tattoo makes it easier to talk to
others, which has a therapeutic effect on the grieving process (Castle &
Phillips, 2003). The process of being tattooed also involves the tattoo
artist, who can be seen as a kind of therapist – someone to talk to about
the meaning behind the tattoo – and is seen as non-judgemental.
According to some tattooists, people seeking tattoos often do so with the
hope that the tattoo will somehow transform their lives (Fisher, 2002).

The meanings behind the images are of great importance to the memorial.
They images chosen could be typical memorial insignia – similar to those
that would be found on gravestones – or they could be images to represent
a time that the bereaved and the deceased shared together. The image
could even have only been of some relation to the deceased individual –
such as a religious tattoo on a non-religious person to honour the beliefs of
the deceased. Also, the importance of the image itself was questioned by
some of the participants – who claimed that the meaning was more
important for them because it was a memorial. However, the image was
very important to some who maintained that when deciding on the image,
it was very important that the deceased would have liked the image itself.

Meanings

The meanings behind memorial tattoos were attributed to a number of

different things and the reasons behind the tattoos are often deep and
personal. The overarching theme of why people wanted to memorialise
their loved one was that the experience of marking yourself permanently
was linked by the participants to how much they loved someone:

“erm… well I was really close to my mum… and… I guess wanted to

show how much I love her… so, yeah” (Hannah, 21-22)

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The meanings that are given to tattoos can be altered and changed
through the course of the lifetime. The data shows that the ‘Dave’ believed
that his tattoos might have changed in meaning over time because of the
image – that they would represent his life at the time of getting the tattoo.

“yeah.. yeah pretty much everything holds some kind of meaning

y'know… er… some things means .. like … what they didn't mean
before… like they used to hold a certain meaning at the time … but
now just show how i was back then if you get me” (Dave, 19-21)

“ its just like… sometimes you get a tattoo out of a feeling … and
then… grow out of that y'know” (Dave 23-24)

The idea that the meanings of his tattoos are subject to change is very
interesting. Meanings can be attributed to tattoos after the tattoo has
taken place – so the meaning would be attributed based on the relation a
new meaning has to the images and placement of the old tattoo.

A few participants mention the idea of the tattooed body as a story. The
tattoos on the body that relate to a feeling or idea the individual once had,
a frozen in time and memorialised forever. The story of the individual is
captured in their body. This could help to explain why people feel the need
to memorialise their loved ones on their body – to include them in their
story and cement them as an important part of their life:

“it’s like an ongoing process… like a story.. even though i don't have
that many yet… like… I’m still young i guess so there’s stuff to
happen to me still y'know.” (Dave, 32-33)

The tattoo itself is not that important then, because the imagery chosen
relates to the story told. In that sense it is understandable when ‘Dave’
mentions that he holds no regrets for any of his tattoos:

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“… no regrets.. cus the image doesn't matter much to me.. just a
nice way to keep track of the story in case you get so many you cant
fucking remember” (Dave, 93-95)

This is different – ‘Dave’ says with his memorial tattoo. It would seem that
the image itself doesn’t matter as much to him as the meanings behind it:

“… i guess its weird getting a religious tattoo when so many

Christians think they're wrong… but its not for them y'know.. its
always gonna be for my mum… and my sister… cus church was it for
her.. it meant a lot and she loved the virgin Mary pacifically
[/specifically/], but it just.. yeah… all for her” (Dave, 60-63)

The meaning behind the tattoo, as a memorial for a loved one is more
important to ‘Dave’ than the traditional meanings of the image itself.
Though ‘Dave’ described himself as non-religious, he has religious insignia
permanently etched onto his body. The image is significant to him though
because of the significance the deceased held for it. The image is ascribed
a new meaning and remains very personal. This supports Colson (1997),
who maintains that that the memorial tattoo is a unique, personal
ritualisation of emotions that is separate from conventional remembrance
obligations of family and friends.

The meanings behind the tattoos then, are very personal so they are
subject to evaluation and change. Meanings are more important than the
images to some participants. The meaning behind the image enables so to
hide their memorial (by this I mean that the tattoo is not distinguishable as
a memorial by the first theme of motifs Colson [1997] mentions). This
personal meaning could mean that memorial tattoos are different to other
tattoos:

“thinking [/a/]bout it… yeah… i'd say the whole process was different

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really[…]even before actually being tattooed it felt different going in”
(Dave, 138)

Involving Others

Not only does use of metaphor – particularly visual symbolisation and their
meanings– help the bereaved in understanding their experiences, it also
makes the sharing of grief easier. This is because metaphor and
symbolisation provide less threatening, simpler language with which to talk
about bereavement – which is particularly useful in therapeutic pursuits
(Nadeau, 2006).

The way that participants described involving others in their tattoo

sounded as though they used the tattoo – be it attention from strangers or
from the artist – to communicate their experience of grief. Tattoos may
make it easier to talk about the loved one because it is an external
representation of an internal feeling:

“I do remember talking to the artist about the tattoo […]… because

he politely asked about the image […] which thinking about it does
make it easier to talk about… like if you just asked me about my
mum and my sister i'm sure my story would be shorter.. but the
tattoo is like a subject starter for me which makes it easier to tell
the story…” (Dave, 174-181)

The process of being tattooed is similar to therapy because of its

involvement of others and the imagery helps make the process of grief
easier to talk about. This in turn makes it easier to share with certain
people.

Sharing grief is expressed in different ways by the participants – some

share with members of the public who ask about their tattoos, others share
with tattoo artists in an intimate experience and some speak about sharing

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the memory of their loved one. A particular characteristic of the deceased
can ‘live on’ in the tattoo:

“ I like to make people laugh and I think I got that from my dad so
this way I suppose we still make people laugh together […] plus he’s
in a better place… fishin’ (laughs) doing what he loved.” (James, 52-
55)

The placement of the tattoo, as mentioned previously also grants the

opportunity to share you loss with others – a process that Castle & Phillips
suggest is therapeutic as a process of externalization:

“..when people without tattoos always ask about yours and grab you
up and stuff (laughs) to have a look at your arm or whatever…”
(Dave, 84-85)

Sharing with others – particularly with the artist in a therapeutic role –

leads to an affinity with the artist. This further supports the idea that the
process of being tattooed is therapeutic. The conversations with the artist
before, during or after the tattoo offer further opportunity to externalise
your loss and tell the story of your experience:

“… but you also get to talk about the tattoo with the artist a lot of
the time because it is an intimate situation… like you do share an
experience with the artist afterwards.. so there is a connection
between you afterwards… like the feeling of closeness from
friendship… like… but obviously you don't actually know each other
before then” (Dave, 132-136)

The tattoo artist in this situation is acting like a guide through the process,
through the experience of being tattooed. ‘Dave’ also mentions a common
practice in tattooing – the artist tends to start with a simple, short line on
the tattoo to ease you into the process and talks to you while it begins.

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The artist in this instance, is guiding the individual through the tattoo
experience.

It seems that the position of the artist in the whole experience of getting a
tattoo is far more complicated than just applying the design well. Several
participants – including ‘Dave’ and ‘Hannah’ - mentioned that they felt
more comfortable with the artist. The experience of the artist in a
therapeutic role is important to the process if it is particularly difficult to go
through:

“I= […]Why did you feel comfortable talking to the artist you think?
P= I don’t know really… I just did… it felt good to talk about it… and
he seemed really good at talking about that sort of thing” (Hannah,
47-48)

Summary

Imagery is very important in tattooing because it is a visual experience far

more often than a physical one. As a reoccurring theme throughout the
analysis of data, memorial tattoos form the metaphor needed in the
grieving process as suggested by Nadeau (2008), Castle & Phillips (2003),
Wyrostok (1995) and Imber-Black (1991).

Participants talked about how their memorial is a reminder of the loved one
they have lost, the feelings they had at the time of being tattooed and how
important that is in shaping their sense of self.

Involving others in the experience is also detailed in the stories of

participants. The tattoo images give a visual form to an internal experience
– making it easier for someone else to understand (Stepkanoff, 2007).
Drawing attention from the artist during the tattoo is an addition to the
experience of being tattooed for some of the participants. Tattoo artists are
experienced with memorials and so play an important role in making the
memorial a pleasant experience – as the importance of the memorial is

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more important than image itself. The tattoo not only helps draw other
people into the experience, but also acts as a constant reminder of the
memorial or feeling that the individual wants to express – be it
remembrance of an activity, belief, shared experience or a traditional
memorial insignia.

Participants talked about how their memorial is a reminder of the loved one
they have lost, the feelings they had at the time of being tattooed and how
important that is in shaping their sense of self.

Experience in Consciousness

This theme is related to the change in mental state the participants talked
about during their interviews. Tattoos have a rich and holy history that
globally. Both cultures in the East and in the West have used tattoos in
religious rituals and rites of passage. The experience of being tattooed is
important to the process of memorializing a loved one, as well as using the
tattoo as an identification of the self. If the tattoo facilitates an altered
state of consciousness, differing from a normal state of waking
consciousness (Revonsuo, Kallio & Sikka, 2009), then the tattoo has a
transformational effect for the participants. This would explain the so-
called ‘addiction’ that participant’s reference – referring to a desire to
continue to get tattooed. The historical link to rituals does suggest that
being tattooed offer a transcendent state. However, traditional ceremonies
involving tattoos are laden with other ritual and religious significance.
Modern tattooing is medicalised in the west – with hygiene taking
precedence over the experience. Focusing on those tattoos with significant
meanings to the participants – their memorial tattoos – their responses
under interview suggest that there is an experience in the tattooing itself,
a change in the normal waking state of consciousness.

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Suffering

Of course it would be difficult to discuss tattoos in length before the

subject turned to pain. All of the participants mentioned pain in their
interviews and for a variety of different reasons. These reasons however,
always came under the headings: physical pain and emotional pain. The
idea of suffering through a tattoo is not new – tattoos are painful and are
the least painful they have ever been in history because the length of time
a tattoo takes is shorter and ease of applying the ink under the skin is the
best it will probably ever be – yet people fall in love with being tattooed.

This section explains the some of the themes related to the painful
experiences the participants have had.

Emotional Pain

By the fact that the tattoos the participants talked about were memorial
tattoos, some level of emotional pain is implied with the grief that they
have suffered through. The way this emotional anguish relates to the
experience of being tattooed is mentioned by a few of the participants in
depth. The physical pain of the process is explained in term of their
emotional investment in the memorial tattoo. The physical pain acts as an
expression of the emotional pain of their bereavement.

“Oh, just a tremendous release for me… I felt open and vulnerable
but safe… my mental pain and anguish had a physical outlet
[…]wonderfully sobering I think… it washes away that anger that you
feel”(Earl, 64-67)

The idea that the physical pain of the tattoo could control the emotional
pain was discussed in the reasons behind memorializing with a tattoo as
well. These memorials have a deep multitude of meanings and
circumstances behind them. Yet, on a few occasions during the interviews
the pain from the physical tattoo was described as a method of taking

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control of the body. Control lost during the stages of grieving. Participants
mentioned that they struggled with grief and controlling how they were
feeling. Inflicting pain is one way on controlling the feeling of the body –
especially taking on board ‘Earl’s’ description of pain as ‘sobering’:

“What I used to claim my body back. I was struggling with dealing

with the loss of my friend […].. very angry […]. I would burst into
tears… I felt low, didn’t want to eat, couldn’t sleep and things like
that… symbolically, marking my grief on my body was owning my
body back…” (Earl, 35-46)

The link with emotional pain also stems from a desire to do something
more than the conventional remembrance obligations family and friends of
the deceased experience (Colson, 1997). This is because the memorial
tattoo is a unique, personal ritualisation of emotions:

“well I think anyone could just carry a photo around or something

like that... but with a tattoo, it just shows a little more I think.
Really, it just shows myself how much she meant to me… that I
wanted to mark her on my body forever” (Emily, 42-46)

Controlling the emotional anguish with physical pain is a strong recurrence

in some of the interviews whereas others didn’t mention it at all. ‘Dave’
specifically mentions the link:

“after you feel the pain emotionally its like the physical pain helps…
not in a weird like… masochistic kinda way… like i'm trying to hurt
myself or anything… or even to feel their pain… but just to show
myself really that they are still with me somehow… that experience
means they stay with me wherever i go and whatever i do” (Dave,
78-81)

The physical pain is an experience that presents great difficulty when

trying to remember. Of course, you can remember that it was painful but
not the actual sensation because pain produces systematic distortions of

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memory similar to those commonly associated with affect or mood (Eich et
al, 1985). The emotional pain tied in with the physical pain seems to be
very important to the memorial experience and the positive effects of the
physical pain as a ‘release’ remain much longer than the physical pain
does.

Physical Pain

The physical pain in tattooing is talked about all the time – as a tattooed
person myself I know that it’s probably one of the top 3 questions I’m
asked after ‘what does it mean?’ Besides from just hurting a little though,
the pain involved in being tattooed is important to the entire process for
the participants of this study. As discussed above, the physical pain is
applied as a controllable outlet for emotional pain for some of the
participants but the physical pain of tattooing in itself is a unique
experience:

“When you get tattooed the pain makes you want to clench up and
tense but you learn pretty quick that it hurts more when you do that
y’know […] it forces you to relax […]You have to breath properly and
concentrate on breathing and staying relaxed… you have to
concentrate on not concentrating” (Earl, 69-76)

The physical pain is a unique experience that is important to the process of

being tattooed. One participant even suggested that her experience of the
physical pain brought about an emotional experience that was related to
her bereavement. As mentioned earlier, ‘Hannah’ had an emotional
experience as she reached her pain threshold and began to talk about her
experiences of bereavement with a very helpful and therapeutic tattoo
artist.

“what happened was like my pain[…]threshold… ran out… so I got a

little upset and things got to me a little… anyway the artist spoke to
me […]about stuff and my mum and I felt better.” (Hannah, 42-45)

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She mentioned in depth the help and advice she was given by the tattoo
artist during the process – how the artist was patient and skilled. If there is
an emotional response to the physical demands of the tattoo process, the
physical pain could be considered a transformative experience:

“it makes you think too I think. The pain kind of wakes you up I
think and you start to feel happy even though it does really hurt […]
after about half an hour to an hour, it feels different… not the tattoo
itself but you… you feel different…” (Emily, 60-65)

The pain experienced in the tattoo does appear to be ‘sobering’ and did
cause 3 of the 5 participants to feel different to how the normally felt. An
altered state of consciousness (ASC) is defined as a change in conscious
experience that is subjective to each individual and differing from their
normal waking state of consciousness (Revonsuo, Kallio & Sikka, 2009).
This experience of being tattooed then is a change in the waking state,
brought about by the physical pain and the link it has to the emotions of
the participants.

Change to waking state

This section is related to the experience of being tattooed as different to

the ordinary waking state of consciousness. Similarities were drawn
between the experience of being tattooed and mindfulness meditation
practice. However, it was also mentioned that the experience of being
tattooed is unlike any other experience and is somewhat ineffable. As
mentioned previously, an ASC is different to a normal waking state of
consciousness – which is described by several participants during their
interviews - and offered as an explanation to why some get ‘addicted’ to
tattoos and want to experience this more often. Those familiar with the
practice, made comparisons with mindfulness meditation whereas another
participant claimed that the feeling was ineffable and could only be
experienced, not explained.

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Focus

The tattoo as an experience of enhanced focus occurs several times with

different participants. The comparison with mindfulness meditation was
made directly:

“You [aren’t] focused on the pain anymore and you’re just focused
on your current state of mind and what is happening to you right
now… I mean, what is more mindfulness sounding than that really?”
(Earl, 78-82)

Naturally, the term meditation conjures up images of Buddhist monks as

the history of meditation is well documented in Buddhist philosophy. From
a Buddhist perspective, the waking state of consciousness experienced
every day is limiting. Meditation then, is believed to help us ‘wake’ from
the automaticity and unconsciousness of a normal everyday state, giving
us access to the entire spectrum of our conscious and unconscious abilities
(Kabat-Zinn, 2011).

“yeah i feel different to how i felt before my first tattoo… yeah…

there was such a build up, of excitement… yeah… i was nervous
going in but the pain focuses you… like. erm… you calm right down
once it starts” (Dave, 161-163)

The idea of physical pain causing a mindfulness-like experience is certainly

a strange one considering the relation mindfulness has in research with
reducing pain in those suffering from it chronically (Kabat-Zinn, Lipworth &
Burney, 1984).

The process ‘going in your own head’ as ‘Emily’ (67-68) describes relates
to an experience of being mindful which is an altered state of normal
waking consciousness. So too is the altered state of consciousness
facilitated by recreational drug use – this comparison is also made
explaining how different it feels to normal waking state:

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“Just the way you are… afterwards it’s different… like… lighter
y’know… a bit like drugs (laughs) but hush hush on that one”
(James, 95-96)

The use of psychedelics is prevalent in the study of altered states of

consciousness. These drugs alter consciousness in psychopathological
directions (Hobson, 2001) and are mostly reversible. There are ‘good trips’
– characterised by altered perception and enhanced mood - and ‘bad trips’
– characterised again by altered perceptions but with fear, anxiety and
depressed mood. Much of the academic interest stems from the use of the
hallucinogen LSD. The drug causes a psychosis similar to a dream-like
state that occurs in waking (Hobson, 2001).

”my friend smokes a lot of pot and he says you can tune out easier…
doesn’t matter if there are noises in the room or even people even
the room talking… you can go into your own head and be still there…
just zone out y’know? Tattoos are probably the same kind of thing I
think…” (Earl, 89-99)

This statement is again similar to mindfulness practice in its description –

particularly with reference to ‘going inside your own head’ and ‘being still
there’. These are terms usually referred to in mindfulness practice
literature (Kabat-Zinn, 2011)

The description of the experience varies from being like mindfulness to

being unexplainable. While ‘James’ describes the feeling after being
tattooed as similar to having used drugs, he also claims that you have to
experience being tattooed for yourself to really understand how it feels:

“its just one of those things that’s really difficult to explain y’know…
unless you’re a butterfly for a bit, I can’t explain what it’s like to be
one y’know… you just have to do it” (James, 109-111)

While this statement maintains that there is something to be said for the
experience, participants also noted distractions to the experience such as

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bringing someone with you to the tattoo studio. All but one of the
participants went to the studio alone when they got tattooed. When being
asked about her experiences of the pain and whether that added anything
to her experience of the tattoo, ‘Hannah’ said:

“No, I don’t think so… I took my daughter with me to distract me

really… and they let her in” (Hannah, 50-51)

From this it could be concluded that any altered waking experience

facilitated by the tattoo must be attended to. It is entirely possible
therefore that the distraction caused the attentional focus - that is present
during mindfulness techniques and that ‘Earl’ mentioned is forced by
dealing with the physical pain – to be on her daughter and avoiding the
experience. This is a view shared in participant interviews:

“maybe if I was with a friend they would have distracted me or I

would have noticed the pain more because we were er talking or
something. Maybe I wouldn’t have had that connection with my own
thoughts – I don’t know.” (Emily, 75-77)

The altered state of waking then is dependent on a full acceptance of the

process and pain. It is also entirely possible that any effect caused by
tattooing was in fact a result of the breathing and attentional focus.
Tattooing as a process then would not be like mindfulness, but would be
mindfulness because of the attentional focus. The pain of the tattoo would
only be a focus of attention for a conscious altering activity, rather than
the activity itself. This point is not answered by considering the use of
tattooing in its ritualized religious form because still, the experience of
transcendence could still only be a result of the mindfulness practice of
focusing the attention, relaxing the body and maintaining the breath.

Vehicle for change

This section of the theme is related to the idea that the tattoo process acts
as a vehicle for altered states of consciousness and for personal change. 1

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of the 5 participant’s claim that the process of being tattooed changes you
personally. However, the others claim that they don’t feel any different as
a person than before. This would support the idea that people get tattoos
as an expression of the self (Christenson, 2000).

4 out of the 5 participants said that they were elated once the tattoo was
finished and ‘Dave’ even mentioned an adrenaline rush that lasted some
time after the tattoo had been completed. The idea that the tattoo changes
you had mixed responses:

“I think it helps people and makes their lives better… I think they’re
different after they do it… like meditation y’know like the
mindfulness… I remember the first time I felt something during
mindfulness practice… […] it was great… I think for some people,
getting tattooed forces that feeling… in a more natural way than
marijuana or whatever…” (Earl, 89-99)

The idea that the process of tattooing changes you is refuted by other
participants who claim that they felt as though getting tattooed doesn’t
change you whereas 2 of the 5 claim that they do. 1 of those claims
maintains that only the first tattoo changed the way he felt:

“yeah i feel different to how i felt before my first tattoo… yeah…”

(Dave, 161)

This would imply an experience similar to that of stories I’ve heard about
the hallucinogen magic mushrooms or the ayahuasca tea – the South
American psychoactive plant tea containing the serotonergic psychedelic
DMT. This tea is a central element to Amazonian shamanism (Schultes &
Hofmann, 1987). Traditionally, use of the tea was restricted to medicine
men or used as a rite of passage into adulthood (Schultes & Hofmann,
1987; 1980; Reichel- Dolmatoff, 1990). The effects of the tea include a
modified state of awareness with enhanced introspective attention, high
states of emotion – characterized by modified bodily sensations and visual
imagery with personal meaning (Riba et al., 2001). With transformative

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experiences so vivid and strong, it clear to see why there are stories of a
change in the awareness of self.

This experience though draws no similarities with the tattoo process – at

least, not the modern Western practice of tattooing today. However, the
participants mention a permanent change after an experience like being
tattooed, even though it may not be as strong as with ayahuasca. There is
most certainly a permanent change that can be argued from Bell’s (1999)
perspective that getting tattooed – especially heavily tattooed – is an
acceptance into certain culture and marginalized circle. This change could
come to have been accepted by an individual because of the experience of
being tattooed and the transformative effects the process may have had.

Summary

Both cultures in the East and in the West have used tattoos in religious
rituals and rites of passage so the experience can be understandably linked
with religious ritual. Participants have expressed their belief that being
tattooed facilitates an altered state of consciousness, differing from a
normal state of waking consciousness (Revonsuo, Kallio & Sikka, 2009) or
is at least similar to an experience of equal effect. However, this altered
state of consciousness cannot be correlated exclusively with being
tattooed. Traditional ceremonies involving tattoos are laden with other
ritual and religious significance which modern tattooing does not have – as
it is medicalised in the west. The answers of the participants would still
suggest that some experienced something akin to an altered state of
consciousness, though the cause may not be the injection of pigment
under the skin.

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Conclusion

The experience of being tattooed varied somewhat between participants -

the experience is subjective and difficult to explain. From the discussion it
is clear that imagery very important tattooing in general – but especially
relating to the role that memorial tattoos play in bereavement. The images
are assigned a multitude of deep meanings. They memorialised feelings,
shared experiences and helped remind people of their loved ones though
their memories or their personalities. Reoccurring through the data was the
idea that memorial tattoos form the metaphor needed in the grieving
process as suggested by Nadeau (2008), Castle & Phillips (2003),
Wyrostok (1995) and Imber-Black (1991) and so play an important role in
the grieving process.

Memorials play an important role not only because of the images

associated with the deceased, but because the metaphor helps to involve
others in the experience of grief. The visualisation of an internal experience
(Stepkanoff, 2007) draws the attention of others and enables the individual
to talk more candidly about their loss. This facilitates grief as talking about
your experiences has been found to be therapeutic, as is sharing the
experience with the tattoo artist for the participants of this study.

The tattoo not only helps draw other people into the experience, but also
acts as a constant reminder to the bereaved and so, acts as a support
mechanism. The tattoo is used by some of the participants a method of
gaining a control over their body that they feel they lost during their grief.

As a mourning ritual then, the memorial tattoo can be viewed – in terms of

these participants – as transformative. The overall experience of planning,
getting and living with the memorial tattoo aids the grieving process. But
as a transformative experience in itself? The participants in this study
would be less inclined to agree. While tattoos are a part of religious ritual
throughout history, the procedure is completely different in modern,
Western tattoo practices so the generalisation (that being tattooed

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facilitates an altered state of consciousness) can’t be made on that basis
alone.

Some of the responses in this study the would suggest that the process of
tattooing does meet Revonsuo, Kallio & Sikka’s (2009) definition of an
altered state of consciousness in that there is an experience – when
embraced – that is different from normal, waking consciousness. What this
data has questioned though, is whether that experience is caused by the
tattooing itself or is simply a by product of the pain. It is not definitive
from this study whether tattooing is a transpersonal experience itself or a
method of a fairly well accepted one, mindfulness.

In conclusion, memorial tattoos are reported to facilitate a transformative

effect though cannot be definitively stated as causing the transformation
itself. This effect though plays an important role in the grieving process
and can facilitate the emotional healing from bereavement.

Further study and limitations

Though participants used in the study were from a variety of backgrounds

and shared no interest in spirituality a transpersonal experiences, they
were all tattooed already and so, brought hindsight into their responses.
The study could have benefitted from utilising participants who were
intending to be tattooed in memorial soon or who had very recently been
tattooed in memorial. It was the intention during recruitment for the study
for this to be the case though with the small sample size, recruiting
untattooed people into the study could have left the data on the experience
of tattoos too sparse. A larger sample size could have enabled the inclusion
of these participants and produced richer data with which to analyse for
themes.

Accounts could perhaps have also been taken from the point of view of the
tattoo artists – who are both experienced with being tattooed and with

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08235373
dealing with people getting tattooed. This could have enriched the data
further.

Further inquisition into the religious ritual used in traditional tattooing

techniques may have produced a richer, more specific data set than
modern tattooing practices, which are often clouded by the social stigma of
tattooing and the social popularity at the same time. However, travelling to
and studying these cultures is beyond the scope and limit of this study.

A comparative study with the cultures practising tattoos in ritualised forms

could generate new insight and richer understanding of the psychological
effects of tattooing.

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08235373

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