In Algeria’s Aurès mountains, it was a tradition for Berber women to tattoo their bodies and faces. The shapes and symbols they used were both of cosmetic and therapeutic value, as the Berber community in eastern Algeria believed that tattoos could be used to heal illnesses and infertility. The practice of tattooing, however, declined in the 1930s and 1940s, a development that has been attributed to the burgeoning influence of Islam in Algeria (which deems tattoos as haram, or forbidden). A...
In Algeria’s Aurès mountains, it was a tradition for Berber women to tattoo their bodies and faces. The shapes and symbols they used were both of cosmetic and therapeutic value, as the Berber community in eastern Algeria believed that tattoos could be used to heal illnesses and infertility. The practice of tattooing, however, declined in the 1930s and 1940s, a development that has been attributed to the burgeoning influence of Islam in Algeria (which deems tattoos as haram, or forbidden). A...
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