Tattoo-the iban tatto artist

ARE tattoos just skin deep? No, it's not - at least not in Sarawak where tattoos represent power, honour and experience for tribes including the Iban, Kayan, Kejaman, Punan and Kelabit.

One of the first lessons the 40 BRATs learned when they met tattoo artist Ernesto Kalum was to look beyond the obvious. With his long locks, and dressed in tattered jeans and a singlet, the BRATs were surprised to learn that this 36-year-old man was a worldrenowned tattoo artist - and a law graduate.

He owns the Sarawakian tattoo parlour Borneo Headhunters Tattoo and Piercing in Kuching.

Ernesto is an Iban, and he spoke mostly about traditional Iban tattooing. Indeed, there is a whole lot more to tattoos than what is commonly known. Ernesto said that the Ibans are especially known for their enchanting engravings.

Ernesto told of the journey all young Iban boys aged 10 to 12 go through, with regards to tattooing. He was quick to note that this tradition is not practiced anymore.

Back then, Ernesto explained, the young boys would get tattooed by the older folks. The first tattoo is always the bunga terung, which symbolises the start of a journey referred to as bejalai - a journey where they leave home to explore the ‘world', during which they are said to transform from boy to man.

There is a belief that the eligibility of a man attaining a wife increases with his number of tattoos, Ernesto said. This is because tattoos are symbols of achievement and obstacles that one had encountered throughout one's life. Hence, women often show their sense of curiosity upon the man's return from the bejalai journey.

Over the years, tattoos have become more than just a product of tradition. Ernesto is more than aware of this, considering the fact that he recently organised the International Tattoo Convention 2007 at Bukit Aup, Sibu in Sarawak.

He shared an interesting fact: many visitors to the Convention were foreigners, and of the many people he tattooed, not a single one of them were Iban.

Indeed, like the BRATs found out over the next few days during a street poll on tattoos, the world does have a different view of the art currently.

--TheStar