Albanian traditional tattooing

Albanian tattoo patterns: 19th century (top), early 20th century (bottom). They are symbols of the Sun (Dielli) and the Moon (Hëna); the cross (also swastika in some tattoos) is the Albanian traditional way to represent the deified Fire – Zjarri, evidently also called with the theonym Enji.

Tattooing among Albanians is a long-standing tradition practiced since Illyrian times and kept alive in the mountainous areas of the western Balkans.

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