The Tattooing: Significance of Physical Marking in Halba Life Cycle

Abstract

The paper describes about the age old tradition of tattoo arts practiced by the Halba Tribe of Chattishgarh since long time. The data were collected from the community people of Bastar District. The villages were consisted of four village namely Mandhota of Bastar block. The people of Baster practiced tattooing work in three different times in their life. The art related to three different stages and play had a significant role according to the age group. These stages were related to birth, adulthood, marriage and death. All the stages play a crucial role in their life cycle ritual and social importance. The people believed that without tattooing both the male and female folk life is incomplited and he or she is questabile to heaven. But due to modernization and globalization the age old practice is gradually vanishing in nature. The paper tries to highlight the social impotance of tattoo in Halba community to preserve it for the new generation. The rich heritage culture also precerved on national level and the artist of the tattoo could be more trained and facilitated them to economic support. Othewise, we pay for our new generation.