blasius de petragna: tattoos
sicanje (or bocanje) was a tattoo custom practiced primarily in the regions of bosnia & herzegovina and dalmatia by catholic croats. it was a traditional way of marking young catholic girls and (less commonly) boys, usually in their teens, which depicted intricately designed motifs of "kolo" (wheel), "križ" (cross), "jelica" (pine tree) and others. this custom predates christianity and was practiced among tribes like illyrians.
later on, these symbols were adopted into christianity as sign of one's catholic faith, and peaked in popularity from the 15th century until 19th century, the period of ottoman conquests in the balkan region. the girls wore these symbols to protect themselves from ottoman kidnapping and rape, as tattoos are haram in islam. even in the case of this happening, they served as a reminder of one's faith.
these tattoos were etched into skin using needles and most often a mixture of soot, spit, honey, and breast milk.
i wanted to give blasius these tattoos to reflect his culture, even though he is a highly secular man. he had them done at 16 like most of his peers. at the time of ottoman conquests in 15th century, it would have made sense that someone from republic of ragusa, a highly catholic state in the region of dalmatia, would have had these tattoos. i drew some classic wheel, crosses and branches designs on his hands, as well as one on his sternum but i didn't illustrate that one here. maybe in a different post.
he wears fine leather gloves most of the time to cover his hand tattoos to avoid the attention from bohemian christians, as tattooing was frowned upon among christians from most other regions—and because he hates having to explain the tattoos.
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