Tattoo/Legends
A tattoo was a permanent insertion of ink below the skin using a sharp needle.[1] A number of beings had tattoos, normally for cosmetic reasons or as part of their culture or an organization.
Tattooing was also used as a common identification or branding of slaves. [source?]
A tattooist, or tattoo artist, was a person who drew tattoos on people's skin as a job. Notable examples were Bojam Rees, who made a living as a tattooist on Starstation 12,[2] and the male Lafrarian Nuyu, a tattoo artist and body decorator who ran a small shop on StarForge Station.[3]
"Tatooine Tattoo" was shipjacker slang for "price on your head" (Jabba the Hutt level).[4]
Notable cultures
Aquellans
The planet Aquella was notable for the Human males' ritual tattooing and dyeing on their bodies upon reaching adulthood.[5] A combination of permanent dye and micro-tattooing was applied during rite of passage ceremonies, and the resulting purplish-green skin made them look like a race of Near-Humans.[6]
Bk'trugh clan
The Bk'trugh clan was a Gamorrean clan whose members could be recognized by a tattoo on their arms.[7]
Bosphs
The Bosph stood out from other tattooed cultures by their unusual motif: star maps. The first Bosphs were nomads, and would often tattoo themselves with maps and star charts for navigation. This tradition is still practiced by high-ranking officials and many non-ranking Bosphs. When the species was discovered by scouts several decades before the Battle of Yavin, the Bosphs who took to the stars developed the tradition further by having their skin adorned with intricate star maps, which often depicted star systems and planets not yet discovered by even professional scouts.[8]
Duhma
The Duhma species identified themselves through their tribal tattoos of a unique pattern. The former Imperial Colonel Abal Karda had his face tattooed with their symbol, as part of a disguise to avoid being captured for the bounty placed on his head.[2]
Ebranite
The Ebranite social structures were based on family and clan units. Each clan, or thilda, had a unique identifying insignia. This insignia was a source of pride and honor, and any insult directed to the clan insignia was viewed as an insult to the clan itself, and to each and every clan member of that clan. Every Ebranite had their clan's insignia tattooed on the uppermost left arm at birth, and remained loyal to their respective clans until death.
In the past millennia, the Ebranite society was plagued with clan warfare, but as their society slowly evolved, many clans would cooperate for mutual advancement. It became increasingly more common to find several clans living together, and children were now given a new clan insignia symbolizing the unity of several clans.[source?][9]
Gorothite
The Gorothite had several wattles beneath their chins, which they decorated with complex, helical tattoos of bright color. The tattoos denoted ancestry and status within their society, and also identified to which j'ber (a kind of clan or extended family) an individual belonged. Most Gorothite couldn't understand how offworlder could be insensitive to these fine gradations of status.[10]
Gree
The Gree decorated their long foreheads with hieroglyphic tattoos which indicated rank and caste.[11]
Sharu
After the Mindharp of Sharu was activated, the life-energies of the Sharu were awakened from their computerized slumber, and the Toka, the species' temporary, primitive form, were restored to the Sharu. Many of the new Sharu had tattoos on their foreheads of the Mindharp or other Sharu symbols.[12]
Wroonians
The Near-Human, blue-skinned Wroonians[13] often wore ornate markings on their faces, but it is unclear how often these facial decorations were tattoos, instead of make-up or paint. The Wroonian woman Azoora had her forehead decorated with a yellow mark that matched her lips.[14]
Notable organizations
Black Sun
- "Those weren't Rebels, unless Rebels started wearing Black Sun tattoos..."
- ―Jix
Some members of the crime syndicate Black Sun carried the symbol of the organization as a permanent tattoo on their body. During the Galactic Civil War, a group of Black Sun operatives attacked Imperial Governor Lexhannen Torlock's palace on Corulag. The group was posing as members of the Rebel Alliance, but their Black Sun tattoos gave them away.[15]
Duality
The Duality was a popular and benign Tarrack cult founded on the twin principles of joy and service. Followers could be identified by the tattoos on their foreheads and cheeks.[16]
Sith Order
Several members of the Sith Order adorned themselves with black tattoos of various patterns and designs.
Sith Empire
- "Naga Sadow, are you ready for the mark?"
- ―A Sith soldier to the new Dark Lord of the Sith, Naga Sadow
The Dark Lords of the Sith of the old Sith Empire wore tattoos of rank on their foreheads. The burning venom of a kind of pincerbug was used to burn the mark into the Dark Lords skin.[17] Centuries later, the Sith Lord Naga Sadow would bear the same mark.[18] 1000 year after the fall of the Sith Empire, the spirit of the Dark Lord Marka Ragnos named Exar Kun the newest Dark Lord, and made Ulic Qel-Droma Kun's apprentice. Marked with Sith tattoos on their foreheads by Ragnos' hand, the newest members of the Sith joined forces.[19] When Ulic returned to the light side, his tattoo was carved away, leaving an x-shaped scar.[20]
Notable people with individual tattoos
Bounty hunters
- Tirog wore a gray tattoo over his right eye and cheek, as well as a red tattoo on his head and right arm.[21]
Force users
- The Emperor's Hand and TIE pilot Maarek Stele had a tattoo of the Emperor's Reach on his left forearm, which signified his involvement with the Emperor's Secret Order.[22]
Hutts
- The Hutt Grand Council member Arok had a tattoo on his right arm.
- The gangster Jabba Desilijic Tiure wore the symbol of his clan as a tattoo on his right arm.[24] The tattoo was made of yoro root pigment.[25] Big Gizz, the leader of Jabba's swoop gang, wore a tattoo identical to Jabba's, on the same arm. Several other members of his gang did it so, as a symbol of their affiliation.[26]
Pirates
- While posing as a pirate captain, the Twi'lek Dia Passik had her lekku decorated with temporary tattoos of an intricate pattern of black cuneiform marks. The body art told the misdeeds stories of her fictitious character.[27]
- The pirate Dorok Zalaster had his bald head covered with tattoos of swirling designs.[28]
Rebels
- The smuggler and Rebel Alliance member Nera Dantels was distinguished by her black talon-shaped tattooed under her eyes.[source?] [29]
- Alfonso Luiz Obota had a brown tattoo on his right arm.[30]
Others
- The famous shockball player Ytavarg Aleema had the number 39 tattooed on his arm, along with an upside-down triangle on his shoulder.[31]
- Big Gizz, the leader of Jabba the Hutt's swoop gang, wore the same tattoo as his boss, Jabba the Hutt, on his right arm.[26]
- The minor Crime Lord Ray Carantar had a twisting and curving tattoo on the right side of his bald head.[32]
- Anja Gallandro had a piranha beetle with a lightning bolt on its back tattooed on her right arm.[33]
- Malindin Gevarak was a small-type counterfeiter recognizable by the tattoos on his face and neck.[34]
- The expert slicer Zakarisz Ghent was distinguished by his blue hair and blue facial tattoos[35].
- The Twi'lek starship thief Tardon Golor had intricate tattoos on his scalp and lekku.[36]
- Swoop gang member Roy Harlison had "big daddy" tattooed on his upper arm, with letters from the High Galactic alphabet.[37]
- Blue Squadron pilot Dorset Konnair had a blue starflare tattoo covering her right eye. Her skin was also decorated with other symbols, most of which were hidden underneath her clothes.[38]
- The Aruzan dancing girl Manaroo had luminous tattoos of moons and stars glowing on her wrists and ankles.[39]
- New Republic lieutenant Massimo had wavy blue lines tattooed on his back.[23]
- While working undercover as speeder bike racer Miraj, the face of Sector Rangers Special Enforcement Officer Narra Mesyne was emblazoned with markings that went from above the eyebrow, over her right eye and down her cheek. It is not known whether these were permanent tattoos, or painted on her face as part of her alias as Miraj.[40]
- After the female Twi'lek Sienn'rha was abducted and enslaved by Bib Fortuna, her lekku was tattooed with delicate floral chains. A Twi'lek's lekku was full of nerves, which made the skin extremely sensitive, and tattooing excruciatingly painful.[41]
- The zealous Xalto Sneerzick had the back of his hand decorated with a tattoo of the symbol of his cause: A purple cog being struck by a lightning bolt, which signified his devotion to freeing all droids throughout the galaxy.[42]
- Diversity Alliance leader Nolaa Tarkona had her single lekku – the other one was missing – tattooed, and stoically endured the prolonged agony. Everyone who saw the Twi'lek woman's tattoos admired her endurance, which added to her power.[1]
- The Nagai Lusubrin T'shkali, also known as Brin, had a violet royal crest tattooed around his left eye, and silver sigils tattooed on his neck. He refused to discuss the significance of either set of markings.[40]
- The Mistryl Shadow Guard Variise had a tattoo shaped like an exclamation point over her right forehead and cheek.[43]
- Vreel, a recruit of the Imperial Army, wore intricate tattoos on the side of his scalp.[44]
- Zabin, the Kubaz Queen of the Zabin Hive, had her face decorated with graceful blue lines.[45]
Appearances
While people wearing tattoos appear in many Star Wars works, the following is only a list of media in which tattoos are specifically mentioned:
Sources
Note: Pictures of tattoos are generally only listed if the character or species can only be found in sources, and not in any appearances.
