The children will never know How the ocean used to flow They’ll never miss the whales They’ll never believe the tales But I will remember, I will tell Of all that lived and their great farewell
Traditionally, these were tattoos, called dakk, and were at one point fairly common among Egyptians. However, the practice of traditional tattooing has faded in Egypt, except for among the Copts, who still get tattoos for religious reasons. When you see a young woman with marks on her face today, she has drawn them on in a temporary ink or dye.
The most common forehead designs are of 6 types: this one is what I would call a palm branches, though I’m not sure what it was named when tattoos were more common.
This is what I’ve termed a trefoil. I actually have more examples of this, and it seems to be the most common forehead design in depictions of Egyptian tattoos.
This one is a curl; this design is uncommon, and this is the only photo I’ve found of it. I suspect this design was drawn on with kohl or another temporary ink.
You may also see a circle or sun. The second photo here may actually have been a trefoil when the tattoo was fresh.
The next motif I’ve seen is a cross (figures 10-11). The cross on the forehead was specific to Copts, and this motif was also used by Ethiopians, who Copts have a kinship with.
The Beoduins in Egypt also have a unique set of tattoos, and their forehead tattoos are usually triangular. This design is also seen in Palestine, and a similar design is used in the Maghreb.
Tattoos are worn by both men and women in Egypt, but this type of tattoo is most common with women. It is unclear when this way of tattooing started in Egypt. The Pharaonic Egyptians tattooed, but I have not seen much evidence they tattooed the face. Unfortunately, the history of tattooing is full of holes. I can’t even definitively tell you when Copts started tattooing; if it was a continued tradition from earlier parts of Egyptian culture or if it was re-adopted later.
More depictions of trefoil designs
It’s always interesting to see the similarities but also the differences with tattooing across the regions. There’s considerable overlap, but also many aspects that make each region unique. There’s Dakk, Dag, Deq, and other ways to say it.
I know many people discuss tattooing as if it were an uncommon thing but it’s not true. It’s completely ahistorical, and it really only became uncommon in the past hundred years. There’s even a Bedouin poem mentioning it - it goes: “O you with the pin-pricked arms and the eight pure (front teeth)”. The pin-pricked here refers to tattooing. In Iraq it was noted to actually be so important that some men wouldn’t consider marrying a woman if she didn’t have any kind of tattoo.
The more triangular shape you see in Sinai is very common in Palestine and Jordan I’ve noticed. It holds a lot of similarities to a type of Kurdish tattoo which symbolizes the sun (roj).
(left: Bedouin Women from Jordan, right: Kurdish woman with deq)
(Left: A Jordanian woman, Right: A Palestinian woman)
Researchers have also noted that the consistency of certain designs within different tribal groups would suggest that tattooing was often used as a way of identification.
The illustration of the tattooed Egyptian girl reminds me of a type of tattoo that was actually related to the use of nose rings (which were also very common but faded just like tattoos) - tattoos above or below the mouth that had the shape of a dot were called fa al-khazama (shadow of the nose ring).
(above: An Iraqi woman with the tattoo described)
Aside from tribal reasons, a lot of the intentions behind it were cosmetic - at least this is what I was able to gauge from a couple of sources and from my own family. My Great Grandmother had a tattoo pretty similar to the fifth image you posted. I was told it was part of their own beautification rituals, and having a tattooed face was regarded as very attractive.
I know Winfred Blackman described tattooing from the fellaheen in Upper Egypt as being common among both sexes and fulfilled a decorative purpose. She also noted dots arranged in threes in the shape of a triangle to be very popular in Egypt - which you can also see in Palestine quite often.
(left: Palestinian woman from Huwara, right: Palestinian woman from Bethlehem)
Most famously in Jerusalem, there are Coptic tattooers who would stamp patterns onto the arms of Pilgrims as a guide for the needles. One Coptic family in particular had been using tattoo designs on woodblocks that had been passed down from father to son since the 17th century! Their tattoo shop is still open, and they still do tattoos for pilgrims to this day.
(Above: A scene from a documentary about Razzouk Tattoo)
If anyone would like to check out their traditional Coptic woodblocks, they actually have a website you can buy art from:
Honestly? My main piece of advice for writing well-rounded characters is to make them a little bit lame. No real living person is 100% cool and suave 100% of the time. Everyone’s a little awkward sometimes, or gets too excited about something goofy, or has a silly fear, or laughs about stupid things. Being a bit of a loser is an incurable part of the human condition. Utilize that in your writing.
