Fatê Temel's desire to keep traditional tattooing (deq/xal) alive

Fatê Temel's desire is to keep the tradition of tattooing (deq) alive. In order to keep the tradion alive she's opened a workshop in Diyarbakır, the largest Kurdish-majority city in northern Kurdistan (Turkey). The tradition of tattooing is more common among women. But the tradition is slowly being forgotten. Nowadays, one can only see it on senior women's faces, hands and feet.

Tattoos (Deq) by Fatê Metel Credit: Supplied

The history of deq or tattooing goes back to ancient times. Each motif has a different meaning. Fatê Temel says most people request tattoos such as the moon, sun, star, and comb, known as the motifs of deq. The ink of deq is made of breast milk and soot or ash. The application of Deq includes embroidering the mixture into the skin through the use of disposable needles.

"I only need a tiny bit of breast milk of a nursing mother to mix it with soot or ash to create the ink for it".

For Fatê Temel being a tattooist has a lot of meaning. She told SBS Kurdish it helps her psychologically and socially by being calm and meeting new people.

"Prior to being a tattoo artist, mentally I was not in a good place, but this art has helped me get through life."

Initially she was worried that people would not be interested in tattooing but to her surprise people are interested especially those who travel from Germany.

"People's interest makes me happy. By drawing these motifs, I am showing this tradition to future generations. I only focus on the motifs of deq tradition. My wish is that one day I travel to all parts of Kurdistan and share the tradition of deq among fellow Kurds."