Friday photo – A Wika tattoo in Ecuador
September 19, 2008 by HeatherCowper
Today I’m joining in the Friday photo, hosted by Debbie at Delicious Baby, to bring you a photo with a story behind it.
Here you see me having a snake tattoo painted on my arm by the children in the village of Sarayacu in Ecuador, on my Amazon river trip last October. The black dye is made by roasting a local fruit in the embers of the fire and grinding up the pulp to make a black ink called Wika, which is painted on with a palm stalk.
In days gone by this was used as war-paint to scare the enemy but now children and grown-ups use it for decorating their faces & bodies, a bit like henna. These children painted a snake curving up my arm which lasted for a couple of weeks. I was so sad when my Wika snake tattoo faded away – it represented my happy memories of my time in the village of Sarayacu.
You can see some of more photos from Ecuador on my Flickr site here and visit the Sarayaku website here.
Read Related Posts
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Kapawi eco-lodge at the World travel Market
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For more Friday photos check out the links on Delicious Baby here.
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