Borneo Scorpion Tattoo - Borneo, one of the great
islands of the world, is part of the Malay Archipelago located southwest of the
Philippines. It is also one of the few places today where tattooing continues to
be practiced in a tradition that may stretch back thousands of years. Although
it is but an island, it is home to several native subgroups: the Iban (also
called the Sea Dayak), Kayan, Kenyah, and Land Dayak. Often times, though, these
peoples are grouped under the single term Dayak, used to refer to any of the
indigenous people of the interior of this lush and mountainous island. In the
late 1800s, anthropologists started to become interested in the traditional
cultures of the peoples of the region and several investigative expeditions were
mounted. From these, as well as the work of modern researchers, we are provided
a rare glimpse behind some of the symbols at work in tattooing and the meanings
that they hold. As with many indigenous forms of tattooing around the globe, the
art of tattooing was not simply art for arts sake. Instead, tattooing was an
integral part of the culture, a ritual expression, specifically connected with
spiritual beliefs. The scorpion symbol, also sometimes known as kala, was
noted particularly in Iban tattoo designs by Charles Hose (a civil officer who
worked in Borneo over twenty years) and William McDougall (an English
anthropologist) in their 1912 publication The Pagan Tribes of Borneo.
However, the authors note that the “scorpion” design is actually based on the
highly stylized image of the aso, the mythical dog/dragon associated with
protection from malevolent spirits. Hose and McDougall suggest that the Iban
adopted their tattoo designs from other subgroups on the island and created
their own interpretations afterwards. In the kala design, the claws of
the scorpion were originally the back end of the dog while the hooked ends at
the back of the scorpion design were originally the open jaws of the mouth of
the dog. Although it has no particular significance in the scorpion design, even
the rosette-like eye of the dog still persists in the center.
