NORTH AMERICA’S TATTOOED INDIAN KINGS

Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow, or Brant, a Mohawk war chief with musket in hand

In April 1710, four “Indian Kings” representing the Five Nations Confederacy of the Iroquois (Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, and Mohawk) traveled across the Great Water to visit the court of Her Majesty Queen Anne in London. These Iroquois sachems, or civil chiefs, hoped to secure British military support against the marauding French and their Indian allies (Algonquin, Montagnais, and Huron) in Canada, and to ask for missionaries to come to New York State and instruct their people. Although Native Americans had visited England before (e.g., Pocahontas in 1616), none had ever been treated as royalty on a state visit!

The "Four Indian Kings," as they were known in England, caused a real sensation in old London town. They were celebrated and honored everywhere they went, and as foreign dignitaries of state the Indian Kings were given a Grand Tour of London, including a performance of Shakespeare's MacBeth and a visit to the Royal Opera. They also attended a "trial of skill with sword" between two fighting Englishmen and visited the Cockpit Royal, where they witnessed the "Royal Sport" of cockfighting firsthand.

A large collection of historical documentation survives that recounts their memorable visit including numerous versions of their speech to Queen Anne, other published accounts of their visitation, some 30 portraits of the Kings in the form of engravings and miniatures, and four portrait oil paintings. For us, and from the standpoint of tattoo artistry, these oils are important because they accurately depict - perhaps for the first time in Western history - the facial and body tattoo of the Iroquois and neighboring Mahican.

Of the four Indian Kings, only three were actually tattooed. Two tattooed sachems were Mohawk (Ho Nee Yeath Taw No Row and Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow) and one (Etow Oh Koam or John) was Mahican, a tribe that was loosely allied to the Five Nations Confederacy. In each portrait, the clan totem of each King (wolf, bear, turtle) is represented standing near the base of the canvas. Moreover, all three Kings are presented with their weapons; these symbols attest to their success and prowess on the field of battle. The portrait of Etow Oh Koam is significant because it is the only known portrait of an 18th century Mahican chief. Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Tow, also known as Brant, was the grandfather of Joseph Brant, the prominent Mohawk war chief who later settled the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario. Today this reserve is the most populous in Canada and the largest Iroquois reservation in Canada and the United States.

Iroquois and Mahican Tattoo

According to Jesuit documents, Iroquois and Mahican tattoo designs were first stenciled on the skin and then pricked into the flesh with trade needles or little bones until the blood flowed. Then, crushed charcoal (or sometimes red cinnabar) was vigorously rubbed into the open wounds.

Iroquois women, however, were rarely tattooed. But when they did, the purpose was usually medicinal, as a remedy to cure toothache or rheumatism. According to the Jesuit priest Lafitau, these women "content themselves with having a little branch of foliage traced along the jaw. They claim that the nerve by which the humour flows over the teeth is thus pricked, so that it can no longer fall there and that thus they cure the pain by going to the source of the ill."

Iroquois men tattooed to signify achievement on the field of battle, including cross-hatches on the face to record successful military expeditions, or other small marks on the thighs to indicate the number of enemies killed. According to a Jesuit relation of 1663, one Iroquois war-chief bore 60 tattoo marks on one thigh alone! Many other markings, which have lost their meaning and function, were placed upon the face and body, although some were probably totemic.

Nevertheless, nearly all Iroquois men's tattoos were distinct to them. According to the account book of Dutch trader Evert Wendell dated August 13, 1706, "a young Seneca, living in Canosedaken, his name Tan Na Eedsies," visited Wendell in Albany, New York and completed his transaction by drawing a pictograph next to his order. This drawing identified Tan Na Eedsies, and the tattooed patterns on his face, neck, and chest were considered equivalent to his personal signature.

The Fate of the Indian Kings and Five Nations

America's Tattooed Indian Kings returned to Boston on July 15, 1710. Although the sachems had witnessed "the Grandeur, Pleasure and Plenty" of the British nation, Brant soon died after his return from London. And as history would have it, both Nicholas and John faded into obscurity. Nothing more is known of them.

In the summer of 1711, however, a massive British military expedition involving some 12,000 American colonists and 800-odd Native Americans from the Five Nations did set sail from Boston in 60 transports and 9 man-of-war. Their destination was the French stronghold of Quebec; the palisaded city that was the key station to the important trade routes on the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes. Unfortunately, in the darkness and swift currents of the St. Lawrence, several of the British ships ran aground on the Île-aux-Oeufs and the expedition was abandoned.

Although the memory of their visit was to be documented well into the 19th century, the Kings' trip to London had little significance in the broader scope of American history. French power persisted in Canada until the fall of Montreal in 1760. And with the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes region were opened to English settlement. Ironically, the westward movement of colonists towards Iroquois lands led to the eventual collapse of the Five Nations. And after 1763, a series of military, political, and economic disasters compounded these and other problems.

During the American Revolution, the Iroquois Confederacy at first attempted to remain neutral. But as time wore on, it was evident that a course of action had to be taken and the member tribes had to pick allies. Many of the Mohawks chose to side with the British, as did the Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas. But the Oneidas were sympathetic to the Americans. Being unable to reach a consensus, the Iroquois League disbanded in 1777 and each Nation was left to pursue its own fate.

Of course, the Americans won their independence from Britain and from 1783 to 1797 most Iroquois tribes were deprived of their land and of their diplomatic and military power under the effective sovereignty of the United States. Soon thereafter the Iroquois were confined to a few small reservations in the United States and Canada, many of which exist today.

source :

Bond, Richmond P.
1952 Queen Anne's American Kings. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Lafitau, Father Joseph F.
1977 Customs of the American Indians Compared with the Customs of Primitive Times, 1724 (2 vols.). Toronto: The Champlain Society.

Thwaites, Reuben G. (ed.)
1896-1901 The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, 1610-1791 (73 vols.). Cleveland: Burrows Brothers.

Who is Betty Broadbent?

Betty Broadbent was born in 1909, and worked as a mother's helper in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at the young age of fourteen. She spent her days on the beach and boardwalk, which was where she met Jack Redcloud, a tattooist. Later on, she was tattooed by Charlie Wagner, a tattooist from New York, who was one of the first to use the electric tattoo machine.

Betty had more than 350 tattoos all over her body, many which were of famous people of the time. A likeness of Queen Victoria was nestled in her decolletage. Her tattooed body landed her a job with the Ringling Brothers, as well as Barnum and Bailey Circus, which were two major shows of the era. Betty performed for over 40 years with every significant American circus, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. She was very popular, for a woman with tattoos was a very unusual spectacle. Another reason for her appeal was the contrast between her tattooed body, and the freshness of her face, which she kept tattoo-free.

Betty eventually became a tattoo artist herself. She was often found tattooing at one of the many arcades in San Francisco. In 1967, she retired from the circus world, and settled in central Florida, near Tampa.

Betty died in her sleep in 1983.

History Of Tattoo

Tattooing started in Egypt with the Nubians and than progressed to Japan and other Asian cultures. It made its way to the Aristocrats of London in the 1700's when a heavily tattooed Polynesian man named Omai was introduced to London society by way of Captain Cook. Small tattoos in discreet places were popular. After the introduction of the electric tattooing machine in 1891 it became unpopular among the upper-class due to the fact that it was now cheaper to obtain a tattoo.

The word tattoo comes from many different locations. It is most believed to be derived from the Tahitian word "tatu," which means to mark and the Polynesian word "ta," which means striking something.

The first electric tattoo machine was invented by Samuel O'reilly in 1891.

Tattoos made their debut in America in Chatham Square in New York City. Tattooing flourished in this area until about the 1920's with the onset of prohibition. At this time tattooing declined in this area and the mecca was moved across the water to Coney Island, New York. With the outbreak of hepatitis and other diseases tattooing became illegal in the state of New York. After health issues were taken care of it became popular once again. Today it is considered a "fine art" form.

Tattoos in Ancient Egypt

Tattoos in Ancient Egypt

Not that long ago, in Western industrialized culture, tattooing was associated exclusively with those perceived as "primitive", "marginal" or even "criminal." Sailors and convicts were associated with tattoos as were women of a certain repute and perhaps the occasional nobleman gone slumming. This attitude has changed drastically in the last decade or so. Tattooing has become popular enough among the general population as to seem virtually commonplace.

As the enthusiasm for tattoos continues to increase, so does the popularity of Egyptian motifs. Designs based on ancient Egyptian amulets are reasonably ubiquitous among Western tattoo fans: one observes quite a few ankhs, as well as djed pillars, uraeus cobras and eyes of Horus, magically reputed to protect whatever lies beneath. These designs, however, are all based on amulets: yes, these were valued by the ancient Egyptians but carved from metal or stone rather than engraved upon the flesh. As far as we know, these designs so beloved today were not used in that fashion thousands of years ago. This is particularly interesting because, also as far as we know, the history of tattooing starts in ancient Egypt.

The phrase "as far as we know" is key because body ornamentation is an ephemeral art.

Skin does not ordinarily survive in the archaeological context, with the exception of certain unique circumstances (the bog people of Northern Europe) or certain unique preservation techniques (the mummies of ancient Egypt.)

In the West, tattooing is most often associated with Polynesia because it was from there that the custom was most dramatically reintroduced to industrialized nations. However, the earliest documented evidence for the tattoo is in Egypt. Although most anthropologists believe that the eventually almost universal tradition emerged separately and individually among different cultures, those who prefer single origin theories find various convoluted routes to explain how tattooing arrived in Samoa from Egypt. Be that as it may, Egypt is generally accepted as the cradle of tattoo art as it is of so many other arts, although recent research indicates that tattooing may have actually entered Egyptian culture via Nubian influence. By the Middle Kingdom, in any event, tattoos seem to have been popular and culturally acceptable.

The earliest intimations of tattoos come from clay figurines dating to roughly 4000BCE. These female figurines are decorated with dots, dashes and lozenges. This was inconclusive evidence until the discovery and examination of preserved, mummified bodies, whose body designs closely echo the patterns etched on the figurines.

Among the best-preserved mummies is that of a woman from Thebes from Dynasty XI (2160-1994 BCE), whose tomb identifies her as Amunet, Priestess of Hathor. Sometimes described as a concubine of Mentuhotep II, tattoo patterns remain clearly visible on her flesh. No amulet designs for Amunet. Instead, she bore parallel lines on her arms and thighs and an elliptical pattern below the navel in the pelvic region.

Several other female mummies from this period also clearly show similar tattoos as well as ornamental scarring (cicatrization, still popular in parts of Africa) across the lower abdomen. The tattoos are all seemingly abstract: a series of dots, dashes and lozenges and for this reason they are often dismissed as random and meaningless. Yet in many ways the designs are similar to those sported by traditional, rural North African and Western Asian women. This strong non-representational geometric style is influenced by the precepts of Islam but also stretches its roots back farther into the past, back into the Paleolithic. Those dots and dashes, so abstract to the non-initiated, actually hold protective and fertility-promoting significance. The lozenges are anciently and traditionally connected to the primal female power of the universe, the Great Mother, so appropriate for a priestess of Hathor.

Why do people get tattooed anyway? Modern individuals may do it for all sorts of reasons, trivial or profound but ancient and traditional societies possess serious and conscious reasoning.

The traditional reasons for tattooing include:
to connect with the Divine.
as a tribute or act of sacrifice to a deity.
as a talisman, a permanent amulet that cannot be lost, to provide magical or medical protection.
Many traditional cultures also use tattoos on the flesh as a sort of passport to the world after death, although interestingly, with all the emphasis on the next world in ancient Egyptian culture, there is no indication that this was the case there.

Certainly, the connection between tattoos and the divine existed in ancient Egypt. Beyond the geometric designs so favored, the other designs discovered so far are intrinsically connected to religion. Mummies dating from roughly 1300 BCE are tattooed with pictographs symbolizing Neith, a prominent female deity with a militaristic bent. These are the only tattoos that at this point seem to have a link with male bearers.

The earliest known tattoo, which is not an abstraction, which is clearly a picture of something, is an image of the demi-god Bes. Bes' image appears as a tattoo on the thighs of dancers and musicians in many Egyptian paintings. Female Nubian mummies from around 400BCE have been discovered with Bes placed similarly on their flesh.

Bes' appearance leads to an interesting point. Up until very recently in the West, tattoos have been considered very macho, exclusively male. If the evidence of the mummies can be given credence, it appears in ancient Egypt, quite the opposite scenario was true. Tattooing seems to be virtually an exclusively female province. Perhaps there isn't enough conclusive evidence to report that only women wore tattoos. There are images of male figures bearing what may be tattoo marks. However, Bes as a god throws the art back into the women's camp.

Bes is a very interesting little spirit. Not a grand creator, not a giver of profound societal gifts, he is a very basic protector of the home, a little male figure devoted to women's concerns. Half dwarf, half lion, he is the only Egyptian god traditionally shown full-face rather than in profile. Bes dances and bangs his noisy percussion instruments to drive off evil spirits. Ugly little Bes was believed to have a special love for women and children, to expend his energy protecting them. A trickster and slightly disreputable, with a somewhat lascivious reputation, Bes' image was everywhere in ancient Egypt: carved onto headboards and beds, painted onto walls, worn as amuletic jewelry and tattooed upon the flesh. (Bes' presence is still reputed to grace Egypt: rumor has it that he enjoys springing out and surprising the unwary tourist at Karnak!)

What kind of protection did the women who wore his image expect from Bes? As an amulet, Bes was expected to provide easy childbirth, conception itself and to protect the subsequent children. Perhaps he was a special patron of dancers and musicians, a patron saint of sorts. Because the pictorial images of tattooed women often include dancers, acrobats and musicians, some consider that his tattoo might have been expected to protect against venereal disease or dangerous male clientele, the assumption being that the tattooed women were also prostitutes. It's very hard at this stage to determine how much of this is true and how much Western bias. Because tattoos in the West were considered disreputable, there was an automatic association among some early anthropologists that these ancient tattooed women had to be "that" kind of woman. Perhaps they were and perhaps they weren't. Because of the placement of the tattoos- on the upper thigh, over the pelvic and pubic region- there certainly seems to be a reproductive and/or erotic component to these tattoos. From our vantage point, at this time at least, it's very difficult to pinpoint exactly the nature of that component. Perhaps these tattoos did mark and protect women in certain professions or perhaps it was just considered visually erotic and seductive and nothing more than that?

Tattooing has been discouraged in conventional Islamic societies over the most recent centuries however the tradition does remain among enclaves of Berbers and Bedouins, including those in Egypt. There seems to be many similarities among the nature of tattoos among these people and those of ancient Egypt. Just as seems to have been the case in ancient Egypt, tattooing is almost exclusively female. Designs are abstract and geometric, representational and the motivation for the tattoo is virtually always a quest for spiritual and/or medical protection or a desire for some sort of reproductive faculty: conception or ease of childbirth. In general, these tattooed women of today are very traditional, rural and religious women, often pillars of their communities, not disreputable in any sense. Should an anthropologist ever solicit their opinions as to the meaning and placement of ancient Egyptian tattoo practices, their insights might be very interesting.

* Those interested in the ancient history of these geometric designs, on tattoos, artwork and in cave paintings, and in the spiritual traditions from which they emerge, will find interesting reading and a plethora of striking images in Buffie Johnson's Lady of the Beasts (HarperCollins, 1988)