Re-gracing the swastika

[pomba gira]

Since this came up Saturday… and Eternal still teases me about his first visit to my home… guess I should do some edumacatin' here.

WHY I HAVE "SWASTIKA" TATTOOS and jewelry, and houseful of collectibles:

Here we have an ancient, pancultural symbol which has been used by people on every continent at some point in their history, and is still commonly found in Buddhist, Hindu and some Native American symbologies. And then some evil bad guys decide to adopt a variant of this symbol for a few years. And overnight it becomes taboo to depict it throughout the Western world. Imagine if all of a sudden you couldn't put hearts or stars on anything. That's how ubiquitous the "lucky swastika" was before WWII. It was considered a good-luck symbol, and often shown with horseshoes, four-leaf clovers, old shoes, and piglets & black cats with red bows around their necks. It appeared on just about any kind of consumer item you can imagine… clothing, housewares, linens, rugs, greeting cards, etc. "Swastika" was a common name for businesses and sports teams. Several traditional quilt patterns like "Flyfoot" were swastika variants. Native American cultures (esp. Navajo, Hopi, Zuni) used "whirling logs" or "rolling logs" on textiles, baskets, pottery, and jewelry. Whirling Log motifs were especially common in Navajo silver jewelry, both traditional pieces and the tourist pieces sold at the Fred Harvey trading posts. Tobacco felts were often made to look like miniature "Indian blankets" with the "Indian good-luck charm" as part of the design.

On the other side of the world, swastikas are widely used in Buddhist and Hindu iconography. "Swastika" is Sanskrit, from the Hindu tradition. Technically a "swastika" faces right and symbolizes male energy; a "savastika" faces left and stands for female energy. The general idea is creative/generative energy radiating out from a still center point.

So anyway, ancient symbol of universally positive meaning is co-opted by evil bad guys in Europe. Evil bad guys, who aren't very original but have a strong sense of design, do up their own variant of ancient symbol: black on white ground in red circle, right facing, standing on one corner (i.e. at a 45˚ angle). They give it their own name, "Hakkenkreuz". People elsewhere in Europe and in North America stop using the original ubiquitous and beloved symbol, first out of patriotism, later because no one wants to be associated in any way with the evil bad guys. The Navajo nation actually holds a formal ceremony to "renounce" the use of the whirling logs in their art and observances. Evil bad guys do lots of horrifically evil things and eventually get their collective ass handed to them.

Fast forward thirty years or so. Some people start thinking, "Why should the evil bad guys and their evil dumbass would-be successors get to keep this ancient symbol? We're going to just give it to them, forever? Why should we give them shit except a hard way to go?" The best known of these people is Manwoman, who has made it part of his life's work to "re-grace" the swastika. Manwoman and his dozens of swastika/savastika tattoos were featured in the original Re/Search Publications Modern Primitives, a book that helped spawn the rise of body modification over the past 20 years. I thought it was a good idea, too. So that's why I have the tattoos, and souvenir spoons, and tobacco felts, and postcards, and jewelry, and table linens, and so on. Nothing to do with "hate", thank you very much.

"Lotustika" tatt... Lotus Cross bent into savastika.

Edited July 20, 2009 by pomba gira

[TheGimp]

very cool my senior year in high school we went over WWII in History class found it very interesting i knew the "Swastika" was a positive symbol at one point and still is today obviously very pretty tattoo by the way Hillie and awesome thread

[dragonluv]

Very informative and composed well. Great Job!

[n0Mad]

And yet a kid would still get kicked out of school for anything swastika related even if all the above was explained. Stupid edjimukators.

Edited July 20, 2009 by Spook

[pomba gira]

I tried to delete the postcards pic 'cos it's so absurdly huge, but it still seems to be there... apologies, & how do I get rid of it? Or is it actually gone & my rig is just not showing the change?

[candyman]

I still can't find a tattoo place that will ink me with a swastika! Even after I tell them all of the stuff in the first post they still won't do it...everyone from well established places to the shitholes that use pen ink are afraid to do it or something.

The tattoos on that ManWoman page are awesome too...good to see people that can get past the ignorance to the truth. Now if I can just find someone with a collection to steal...

[pomba gira]

I still can't find a tattoo place that will ink me with a swastika! Even after I tell them all of the stuff in the first post they still won't do it...everyone from well established places to the shitholes that use pen ink are afraid to do it or something.

The tattoos on that ManWoman page are awesome too...good to see people that can get past the ignorance to the truth. Now if I can just find someone with a collection to steal...

I got my three at Inkporium here in Lansing... unfortunately they're no longer in biz, at least at their old location... if you like I can investigate & see if any of the artists there are still working in the area.

I have ManWoman's book, Gentle Swastika... it's worth buying if you have any interest in the subject. And maybe could help you get tatts if you had it to take along. He's a nice guy... sent him pix of a rug I had & he was very gracious & appreciative.

[Raev]

I have a Bro on this board who has a swastika tattoo for damn near the same reason. It's been the cause of many a hostile conversation.

[pomba gira]

I have a Bro on this board who has a swastika tattoo for damn near the same reason. It's been the cause of many a hostile conversation.

I get a lot of curiosity but almost never hostility... I think by me being a woman of color people figure it must mean SOMETHING different from what they're thinking.

[creatureofthenyte]

I get a lot of curiosity but almost never hostility... I think by me being a woman of color people figure it must mean SOMETHING different from what they're thinking.

I would not have interpreted that way, had I not read this thread first. However, if the tatt was in black ink, with a white circle around it in the background, on a tomato red flag, Then I would have started thinkin somethin.

This tatt however, is cool, and very creative.

[ttogreh]

I am quite sure that if I, a white male, were to wear a swastika tattoo of any design, I would spend the rest of my life explaining myself to offended people. It is sad, but it is the way it is.

I suppose in another fifty years that might change, though.

[candyman]

I am quite sure that if I, a white male, were to wear a swastika tattoo of any design, I would spend the rest of my life explaining myself to offended people. It is sad, but it is the way it is.

I suppose in another fifty years that might change, though.

It will change...it BETTER change

People have gotten too used to lumping everything together and keeping the "evil" label on...

[Simon Bar Sinister]

And yet a kid would still get kicked out of school for anything swastika related even if all the above was explained. Stupid edjimukators.

some schools in the western suburbs may be dealing with this sooner rather than later, if they're not already; lots of South Asians thereabouts, and their numbers are growing.

I met a Hindi woman who has a gold one painted on the floor of her porch. I gotta admit - first time I saw it, I was taken aback for a few seconds before I fished out the memory of its place in Hinduism.

[freydis]

And just as bad, I have seen/have gotten dirty looks for runes. Runic things get just as many glares for people thinking of Nazi's when they see them.

Well, nearly as many.

This is sad....

[Simon Bar Sinister]

I still can't find a tattoo place that will ink me with a swastika! Even after I tell them all of the stuff in the first post they still won't do it...everyone from well established places to the shitholes that use pen ink are afraid to do it or something.

The tattoos on that ManWoman page are awesome too...good to see people that can get past the ignorance to the truth. Now if I can just find someone with a collection to steal...

something occured to me after rereading this thread: what colour do you want the swastika to be? I recently met an Indian girl who also has a swastika at the entrance to her place...black outline, red filling!

[candyman]

something occured to me after rereading this thread: what colour do you want the swastika to be? I recently met an Indian girl who also has a swastika at the entrance to her place...black outline, red filling!

The swastika is a black one of Jain design...surrounded by the Star of David...and that is all surrounded by a large Lotus...the design is tweaked by my friend from one that I found online. I never really liked the block filled Indian design as the swastika always looks graceful when its arms a swept...not that is looks bad any other way.

[Confess]

I can share mine. I got mine for similar reasons. Not quite as thought out as yours. I was barely old enough to get a tattoo at the time. But I got it because I didn't think it was fair for the negative to have it.

[pomba gira]

I can share mine. I got mine for similar reasons. Not quite as thought out as yours. I was barely old enough to get a tattoo at the time. But I got it because I didn't think it was fair for the negative to have it.

Beautiful... very nicely designed. Although the girl-on-girl yiff action above is a little distracting!

You should send a pic to ManWoman, he is always interested in seeing positive swastika tatts.