Tattoo Pattern

Flat piece of wood carved to leave a pattern in high relief. The block is inked and pressed onto the skin as a guide for the tattooing. Repeat pattern, part of tattoo design covering a woman's upper thigh. Identified by Nieuwenhuis as a thigh tattoo with the motif of a human head (kohong kelunan). Described by Hose and Shelford (following Nieuwenhuis) as an "anthropomorphic design, known as kohong kelunan, human head, covers the front and sides of the thigh." This is a five- line example, for a woman of high class. (Compare thigh pattern illustrated by Nieuwenhuis of Tipong Igau, a "respectable woman."