Tattooing and piercing are practiced in many countries and at various times. In Senegal, in recent years, tattooing has become popular. Young people, both men and women, get tattoos on almost every part of their body.
Some people have the name of their partner or their parents tattooed, while others choose to draw animals, flowers and others on their skin. The same goes for piercings. Today, we see women in Senegal wearing piercings on the tongue, on the navel, on the lips, on the eyebrows, on the nose, etc.
Love in the skin
Anna Sylva, dressed all in white, a 29-year-old young woman we met in Thiaroye-sur-Mer, had her tattoo four years ago. Moreover, it is the name of her partner that she has nicely written on her skin.
“I had my husband’s name tattooed on my arm and chest. To please him and show him how much I love him”, she confides.
If women choose to inscribe their husband’s name on the skin, some men also, without hesitation, do the same. Laye Sylla, a young [vendeur] traveling, proudly bears the first name of his partner and that of his mother.
“I had my mother’s first name tattooed on my right wrist and my wife’s name on my left forearm. I did it to remember them every moment of my life. Seeing their first names all the time motivates me, gives me courage and allows me to fight to succeed and make them happy,” says this 31-year-old young man dressed in a black t-shirt, a cap on his head and a backpack full of items slung over his shoulder.
Playing the same trumpet [affirmant la même chose]Demba Diop, a 34-year-old divorcee, also has a lot of tattoos on his body. On his two arms, his two forearms, on the back of his right hand, on his shoulders, we notice writings, images of birds and flowers. According to him, all the images and writings on his skin have a special meaning.
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