Tattoos..period, should be thoroughly researched. I often see white people getting shit for having tattoos of other religious figures, religious figures that are not a part of the faith in which the white people were raised.
Like many things, I certainly believe that a tattoo is more than a picture. It is a pictorial reflection of ones feelings, thoughts, emotions, beliefs, loves, passions, etc.. permanently etched onto ones skin.
Despite my general distaste for white people. I am a Caucasian woman of mixed ethnic heritage.
I have two tattoos depicting religious symbols and verses. These symbols and verses are not of the religion in which I was raised.
Theyre symbols and verses from the religion and spirituality that lit a fire within me years ago and that fire still burns.
I am a Caucasian Shaivite. A Hindu. I have a tattoo in Sanskrit of the ‘Asato Ma’ mantra, and an AUM. I am sure there will be more to come.
Religion, while many times connected to a culture or an integral part of a particular culture..is still religion. A set of beliefs about our supernatural world. These set of beliefs can belong to anyone. People a part of the culture the religion is connected to..or people completely outside of that culture.
With that said…religious beliefs should be thoroughly researched before anyone decides upon settling with any religion or spiritual practice. There are people who get fleeting tattoos of an AUM symbol, or a pretty lotus, or a God…without it having any meaning and its not MY place to condemn that practice but it IS my place to speak up and say one thing..
I am a Hindu. I was not born in India. I am not Indian. My familial ancestry may go back thousands of years to India due to my Rromani heritage..but that is irrelevant.
I am not appropriating anyones culture with my tattoos. I am putting on my skin an outer reflection of my inner spirituality. One I have had since I was 14 years old. One I will always have. By locking my hair, I am not appropriating anyones culture. I am showing my devotion to Shiva by locking my hair as he did.
By having AUM tattooed on my body, I am reminded of the all encompassing first sound. The first creation. I am reminded of God. I am reminded that I, and all, are manifestations of God.
By having the ‘Asato Ma’ mantra tattooed on my body, I am permanently crying out to God for help to transcend. These things are not reflective of my appropriating another culture…
Theyre reflective of my inner spirituality and my faith. A faith I have put time and tears into. I do not have murti’s of someone elses God….I have murti’s of MY God. My ishta deva.
So, when we see a person with a particular tattoo, or necklace, or…anything..that may not belong to the religion in which he or she was raised..think twice before chastising. Religion and culture, while often tied to one another…are not inseparable. More often than not theyve each borrowed from one another over vast time periods. But, religion is still the set of beliefs about our supernatural world, creation, Gods, etc. Belief in God is not limited to any particular people. Worship isnt either. No type of worship and no set of beliefs.
So there is a big “gypsy camp” as it is called around here, that is near me in Spiro, OK. Some of my followers who live near me may know what I am talking about. I believe they may be of Romani descent, after doing a small bit of research. But that could be completely wrong, I have no idea what…
Romanichels or Irish Travellers, quite possibly a mix of the two. We have quite a few Irish Travellers around here, same surnames, who were responsible for one of the largest insurance frauds in the nation. It was insane. Happened a couple years ago and it was all over the news. BUT thats not the point, lol. I might be wrong, but it seems like, in the USA, that Irish Travellers are more represented than Rroma? As a Rromani woman I know I hear of, and encounter more Irish Travellers (who are now Scot-Irish Americans).
There are also Irish Traveller groups in Norman OK, and quite a few in AZ. Down here, they live in Georgia and the Carolinas mostly.
(Source: sillymaki)
Often times when I am trying to explain to an individual why they should not wear tribal headdresses, or why they should not say things like “I think I was a gypsy in a past life, because I love to travel!” Or, when they post pictures of themselves with a crystal ball, or wearing a skimpy “gypsy” or “Native” Halloween costume….I am often met with the response that there is nothing wrong with admiring and incorporating other cultures traditions, dress, etc into our wardrobes, lives, pictures, etc.
That is true. There isnt. Cultural appropriation is not, in itself, inherently wrong. However, cultural MISappropriation is. A lot of people debate over the words “appropriation” and “misappropriation” so here, I am using appropriation to refer to the natural effects and outcome of living in multicultural societies, and the result of cultural exchange. I am using misappropriation to refer to the negative appropriation of a culture and their traditions by reinforcing negative or untrue stereotypes about said culture or tradition..whether by clothing, pictures, or whatever else.
This is what needs to be understood. Living in a multicultural society, a multicultural world..there will be cultural exchange and the result of that is appropriation ALL around the block. Not just whites appropriating non white cultures and traditions…but all cultures appropriating and borrowing from all different types of cultures and traditions. I admire MANY cultures and traditions, and oftentimes incorporate attire from cultures other than my own, into my own wardrobe.
However, I would not ever take a sacred, traditional item and devalue it by exploiting it, or devalue it by using it to reinforce negative and incorrect stereotypes about a people or culture. This is where the difference lies.
Many of you need to learn the meaning of the word “respect.” I am, many times, met with the response that, for example, the reason a young woman has taken a picture of herself in a field, wearing an extremely revealing, cheap halloween costume, with a crystal ball in her hands..is because she “loves and respects gypsy culture.”
No. Learn the definition of the word respect. Respect is not devaluing a people by depicting yourself in attire that reinforces negative and incorrect stereotypes about them. That is not respect.
