April 21, 2011 on 10:00 am
Dear Spiritual Explorer: My youngest daughter wants a tattoo. She’s only 13 years old, and I would like some help. Joan K., Missoula, MS
Black Jagua Tattoo Kit
Dear Joan: Don’t worry anymore, Mom. We have a tattoo that your daughter can try for only 10 to 15 days, and it is not just one with butterflies, roses, religious symbolism or even Chinese or Japanese words that nobody understands. It’s the Earth Henna Jagua Black Tattoo Kit. Now because jagua brings to mind “jaguar,” showing this to your daughter might be titillating enough to excite her teenage sensibilities. Now you’re probably asking whether it is wise to entice your daughter to try this Jagua Tattoo kit. Maybe she’ll try something stronger next time. Maybe next time, she’ll use the needle. Of course, it’s a tattooing needle we’re talking about. However, I don’t think that Jagua necessarily leads to something more permanent, and the only addicting thing about it might be the beauty of the tattoo. You just want to see it again and again.
We know that children today are much more savvy about things and in the know. Some of them are also very earth and conservation oriented. They are the ones who are going to be most aware of the consequences of our not taking care of Mother Earth. Therefore, they might be interested in the story of how the co-owner of Jagua Black Tattoo, Paul Giacomini, traveled to the Amazon into areas not just reserved for tourists in search of a fruit that could be used for tattoo purposes. There he found indigenous people using the jaguar fruit for purposes besides tattoos for different occasions. He also discovered that these tribes used this tropical jagua to enhance their culture spiritually and physically, as well as a captivating number of stories surrounding the jaguar fruit, thus encouraging a mystique that will fascinate not only your child but you too. The jagua fruit has a multitude of uses, one being that it has antibiotic properties.
Jagua has long been used for traditional body art. The unique jagua fruit juice is painted on the skin making elaborate and striking jagua body art. Like henna body art, it lasts just for a few weeks. So technically jagua is actually a stain, Jagua grows on really tall trees in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America. Jagua can be found in fruit all year round in some places.
You might want to tell your daughter that jagua has been grown in the rainforests of South America for as long as people have been around, some 12,000 years. I am sure that that the mere name jagua, reminiscent of jaguar, that frightening and captivating animal that prowls the rain forests, will add to the mystique and jungly feeling of this extraordinary tattoo derivative.
Thanks for writing, Mom. Spiritual Explorer
If you have a question you would like to ask, send me your question. Ask The Spiritual Explorer