Humans of China: "The Ink Was Soot From the Bottom of a Pot"

Cameron H. theBeijinger

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This article comes from Humans of China (WeChat ID: humans-of-china), which aims to document and tell the stories of the many varied people of this vast country, one individual at a time. This edition details the face tattoos of a Dulong minority woman in Yunnan province.

My auntie tattooed a butterfly shape on my face when I was 13 years old. There were four other ladies there helping too. Two ladies held down one of my legs each and two ladies held down one of my arms each. This stopped me from moving and wriggling around due to the pain. It took 12 hours. She only went over the lines once, so she had to dig in really deep with the thorn she used from a tree she found close to our village. The ink was made with soot from the bottom of a pot mixed with water. The most painful place was on the ridge of my nose and just above my top lip. The pain didn't just last for the duration of tattooing but also for days after. My face was swollen, scabby, and bleeding and I found it really hard to eat and drink. I would only be able to drink soup and eat gruel. It was like this for about a week, then it started to get better. Whilst tattooing I cried but they told me to stop. After I also cried due to the pain.

I was the last one to suffer this painful practice

I had no choice about having these tattoos. I was made to have them but I only have them on my face. They were worried if I didn't have them, I would be stolen to be either sold to or raped by other men. I didn't want them when I was younger and as a teenager and a young adult I never liked them, I thought they were really ugly and I was full of regret. As I've grown older I've come to terms with having this on my face, I don't mind them now and I am used having them. When I was a little girl all the ladies had tattoos, my mother had tattoos and the ladies who helped me also had them.

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I am the youngest lady alive with these kinds of tattoos and I was the last one to suffer this painful practice. Now, there are only around 15 ladies still alive with these kinds of tattoos. The tradition stopped around 1949 which I think is a good thing.

I married at the age of 19 but my husband died 11 years ago. The marriage was arranged by our parents and back then we had to marry within our minority. Now marriages are not arranged and the younger girls can marry whoever they love from any minority, they have freedom.

My husband quite liked my tattoos but when he was younger any girl that he was going to have the chance to marry had them. We had three boys and my husband and our boys don't have any tattoos. My husband worked for the government, he was a clever and cultured man and he treated us all very well. While he was at work I was at home looking after the children, making cloth, which I learned to do at the age of 13 or tending to the land. I used to grow rice, a lot of rice as well as corn, potatoes, and millet. We also raised chickens, ducks, and pigs. I think I never had a job because I didn't have the chance to study.

I now live and work in a minority park in Kunming with some of my family which I quite enjoy. We are here to share stories, history, and culture to the people that visit. People like to take photos of me and now I can charge them 20 yuan each. When I first started working here I would let people take photos of me for free and all day there would be a queue of people wanting to take photos with me and it became hard work. Also, the flash from cameras hasn't been good for my eyes and now my vision isn't great.

A few years ago my friend visited me here, she also has tattoos but she didn't like it here as much as I did. Whilst working here I wear my minorities clothes. When I visit other places in China like Beijing, Taiwan, or home I also wear them. My home is about a two-day journey away from here as we live deep in the mountains on the border to Burma. We love to wear colorful clothes; before we used flowers, vegetables, and other things we found to dye the cloth.

Although I like living in a big city, I can't afford to buy a house there. In a few years' time, I would like to go back home to live as at times I do miss it there.

We do have our own written and spoken language but I can't read or write it, I can only speak it. Now everyone back home has the chance to study and many young people can now read and write it. I get to go back around twice a year and one of the times is during Spring Festival. We do celebrate Spring Festival but we also celebrate Christian holidays as we follow Christianity. Back home there are lots of churches to visit.

During Spring Festival we celebrate together unlike other minorities in China who stay at home during that time. If you visit us during the New Year then you'll be very welcome to join in the party with lots of different families, food, music, and drink. Our minority loves to drink and so do I. Most days we will drink beer and if I am back home I will make rice wine which we also like, it's a little sweet. Our children will start to drink a little from a young age so as they grow older they won't abuse it as they are already used to the feeling drink brings.

The young people don't blink when they see us old ladies with tattoos as they are used to it. I have been lucky enough to travel around, during which so many people stare at me. I don't mind it now as I know they are curious as to why I have these tattoos.

I would like to travel to other parts of the world but first I need to save money. Flying does not scare me and I love visiting new places and meeting new people. I've also been lucky enough to meet our Chairman Xi, once in Beijing and once in Kunming. The second time he saw me he invited me for dinner. I was so happy. It was probably the happiest time of my life.