Human history shows that tattoos have served in many diverse cultures as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, amulets and talismans, protection, and as the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts.
Today, people choose to be tattooed for cosmetic, religious and magical reasons, as well as a symbol of belonging to or identification with particular groups. Some Ma-ori still choose to wear intricate moko on their faces. People have also been forcibly tattooed for a variety of reasons. The best known is the ka-tzetnik identification system for Jews in part of the concentration camps during the Holocaust.
European sailors were known to tattoo the crucifixion on their backs to prevent flogging as a punishment as at that time it was a crime to deface an image of Christ.
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Tattoos are also placed on animals, though very rarely for decorative reasons. Pets, show animals, thoroughbred horses and livestock are sometimes tattooed with identification marks, and certain of their body parts (for example, noses) have also been tattooed to prevent sunburn. Such tattoos are performed by veterinarians and the animals are anaesthetized to prevent pain. (Branding would not be considered a tattoo since no ink or dye is inserted).
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