In L’Anthropologie (a), 1890, T. I, No. 6, p. 693, it is thus reported:
Tradition tells that the Giao chi, the alleged ancestors of the Annamites, were fishermen and in danger from marine monsters. To prevent disasters from the genii of the waters the king directed the people to tattoo their bodies with the forms of the marine monsters, and afterwards the dragons, crocodiles, etc., ceased their persecution. The custom became universal, and even the kings tattooed a dragon on their thighs as a sign of power and nobility. The same idea was in the painting of eyes, etc., on the prows of Annamite boats, which strongly resembled the sea monsters.
Mr. O’Reilly, the professional tattooer of New York, in a letter, says that he is familiar with the tattoo system of Burmah, and that, besides the ruling principle of ordeal, the Burmese use special tattoo marks to charm and to bring love. They also believe that tattooing the whole person renders the skin impenetrable to weapons.
In Zeitschrift für Ethnologie (a) it is recounted of the Badagas in the Nilgiri mountains, India:
All the women are tattooed on the forehead. The following [Fig. 538] a is the most usual form:
Besides this there occur the following (same Fig., b, c, d, and e):
Besides the forehead, the tattooing of which is obligatory for women, other parts of the body are often tattooed thus (same Fig., f)
