The tiger has long been a symbol in indigenous tattooing in Asian countries, such as Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. As a tattoo, a tiger can symbolize an intermingling between strength and beauty. Tiger tattoo pictures, just like designs, are diverse and often ornate. This wide range of tiger tattoo pictures is necessary to cater to all preferences in style and symbolic meaning. Here are the broader categories:
Tribal Tiger Tattoos
Tigers found in Asia are generally inked in tribal style. The swirls, bold black strokes, and geometric shapes of the tribal inking style complement the sleek and powerful form of the tiger, its movements, and even its coat of stripes.
By and large, Asian cultures utilize the tiger as a symbol of power and strength. It is deemed 'King of the Animals' in Korea. It is also sometimes used as an emblem for destruction and violence. Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, is illustrated bearing a tiger skin and riding a tiger. Pictures of Asian tigers also serve as amulets to ward off evil spirits. In China, stone tigers are placed to guard and protect buildings and houses.
White Tiger Tattoos
The tattoo picture of a white tiger, also known as spectral tiger, almost always turns out as a wraithlike image – it is frequently depicted thin black stripes on a coat of snowy white fur and blue eyes. Most white tigers die from starvation in the jungle because their lack of usual orange-and-black pigmentation makes it incredibly difficult for them to get prey by stealth. They stand out too much against a backdrop of grass and forest. A white tiger tattoo is usually inked in tribal or impressionist style.
As a tattoo, a white tiger represents the rarity and uniqueness of its wearer, and often spells out a message that he or she is one of a kind. Another meaning attributed to a white tiger tattoo is the struggle for survival.
Siberian Tiger Tattoos
Siberian tigers are the rarest and largest of the tiger family. They are now dangerously close to extinction. Male Siberian tigers can be more than ten feet in length and weigh between 400 to 700 pounds. They reside in the forests of Southeastern Russia and parts of China. The symbolism in pictures of Siberian tiger tattoos is pretty plain – it is of raw and unparalleled strength and power.
Weretiger Tattoos
Chinese and Tibetan lore tell that their people descended from tigers. They also tell of stories about weretigers, people that can change themselves into tigers, much like the werewolves in movies. In some parts of China, the custom of giving tiger figures to boys and girls at their coming-of-age ceremonies is still practiced today. Weretiger tattoos are also chosen and inked on many people today.
