Tattoo craze pricks Benin's youth

By Esther Tola
BBC News, Cotonou

Many young women now sport tattoos in Benin

Benin is experiencing a tattoo craze, with mostly young women rushing to undergo the needle.

Tattooing has not been part of Benin's culture, but these days one cannot miss the flowers, intertwined hearts and the name of beloved ones on necks, arms and legs.

"I love tattoos. On the one hand, for seducing men and on the other hand because it makes women look beautiful," says one female enthusiast.

And since the recent release of a hip-hop music video, in which dancers had tattoos just above the buttocks, many are now sporting similar body art.

Tattoos are not really that different from traditional scars which are made in order to express identities Sociologist Albert Tingbe Azalou

"Girls in Benin are crazy about tattoos because they want to look like the American stars," says tattooist Narcisse.

He has been working for years at a beautician's salon in Benin's main city of Cotonou and is now rushed off his feet with new customers.

"Usually, we receive girls but older ladies are coming especially for the permanent make-up. Boys are rare - those that do come like snakes; girls like patterns such as butterflies on their backs," he says.

"For dark skins, we usually use colours like black, brown and dark green. When the complexion is fair we also use some red. On a dark skin red won't come out."

Gothic patterns

Narcisse specialises in permanent tattoos, but henna tattoos and those done with Indian ink are also proving popular - especially gothic patterns.

Henna tattooing has always been popular with Muslim women

When a henna tattoo parlour not far from where Narcisse works was set up four years ago most of the clientele wanted tattoos ahead of their marriages, a traditional Muslim practice.

Now the salon owner is surprised to find that she is getting more and more schoolgirls coming through her doors.

Wearing gloves, she squeezes the liquid dye through a bag as she draws patterns on the skin - looking as if she were icing a cake.

"Everything started when I went to a woman who made henna tattoos. I watched her working and I started doing it myself. It's a gift from God," she explains.

Henna and Indian ink tattoos are easy and quicker to make. It only takes about five minutes to make a simple pattern.

They are also affordable, costing less than $1 each, while permanent tattoos cost a minimum of $37 dollars up to $365 for bigger patterns.

Painful

It appears most people prefer the temporary tattoos not only because of the price but also because they can always get rid of the tattoos should they decide they no longer want them.

Personally I had one above the buttocks for my man, not for everybody Beninois woman with tattoos

Although for some the sharp needle used for making permanent tattoos is a consideration.

"I prefer permanent tattoos because if they are temporary, I'll feel like changing them every time. I've not had a permanent tattoo yet because I heard it's painful," one man says.

This tattoo craze is surprising in a country like Benin where traditional culture still has a huge influence on social life.

But sociologist Albert Tingbe Azalou explains the phenomenon in understandable.

"Tattoos are not really that different from traditional scars which are made in order to express identities," he says.

In many parts of Benin, especially in the north and centre of the country, scarification is popular especially with the older generation and many children are marked on their cheeks, supposedly to protect them from evil spirits.

Tattoos and waist pearls are considered seductive

The latest tattoos are all the rage because it gives young people, who do not want to be different from their circle of friends, a sense of belonging, he says.

"There are types of tattoos coming from abroad which are more attractive to youths, because they want to look cool," Mr Azalou says.

But not everyone approves of all aspects of the new fashion.

"I like tattoos, but if a woman has one above the buttocks and wears low-waist trousers, men can see it and it's not that good," one woman told me.

But as another lady said, it is not always about public fashion.

"Personally I had one above the buttocks for my man, not for everybody. On parts like arms, it's fine because everybody can see it. But for hidden parts, I keep it for my intimacy," she said.

Just as waist pearls - traditionally worn to protect women from sorcery - became a la mode several years ago, tattoos seem to have become another tool of seduction and fashion in Benin.