Reply #47: Some Egyptian tat trivia for you... [View All]

In Egypt, Bedouin women from the Western Desert tattoo their resumes on their forearms, or so I'm told. These are symbol patterns that represent phrases like: "Excellent seamstress, good cook, can carry 4 live chickens on her head..." Yep, this is meant to help them acquire a husband.

I found that fascinating. Bedouins didn't often come into the city (Alexandria, in my case), but they were instantly identifiable by the women's facial "dot" tattoos.

One hot day I was cooling off by walking around a canal in Alexandria. I saw a man and woman with a toddler-sized girl.

The woman's heavy face/arm tattoos led me to believe she was Bedouin. The baby had her own tattoos on her legs and arms, which looked like henna. (I hope!) The man wore a Western-style business suit, not the near-universal gellibyah. And had no visible tattoos.

So I guessed that was a Bedouin woman married to a non-Bedouin husband. Which I'd think is VERY rare. In general the Bedouin stick to themselves and don't associate with people outside their tribe.

As for Muslim Egyptians, tattoos are officially forbidden by Islam. Many men get them anyway, usually a small crecent moon tattooed between the thumb and forefinger. Egyptian Xians often have a cross tattooed in the same place.