Traditional Egyptian tattoos
These tattoos are a Egyptian tradition stretching back likely to predynastic times. There are figures of Egyptian women with tattoos on their hips, thighs, and abdomen, and multiple mummies have been found with tattoos. The practice of tattooing has been somewhat continuous, and it is likely that Muslim Egyptians who took part had indigenous heritage, as while some Arabs also did tattoos, the types of tattoos used more closely resembled indigenous designs as far as I can tell. I also do not see many Arab North Africans with tattoos- the practice looked to be more common in the Arab peninsula and with nomadic Beoduins.
Influence from Nubian and Amazigh tradition on the tattoo designs and placement is likely, as scarification (a somewhat related practice) is practiced by Imazighen, Nubians, and Fellahin, and both Nubians and Imazighen have lived in strong numbers in Upper Egypt (the Imazighen tribal confederation of the Houara had political power there up until 1813, when it decreased greatly, though they still have descendants and power in some areas, such as Sohag). However both men and women were tattooed in Egypt; for the Imazighen typically women are tattooed and men are not.
Some of the tattoos have a medicinal purpose- for example, one might get a tattoo of a bird on their temple to relieve headaches, or a design on their fingers to increase their strength. Others were spiritual, such as the Coptic practice of tattooing crosses, or Muslims getting a tattoo to commemorate a pilgrimage. Yet others appear to only be beautiful.
The details of how the tattoos are created are somewhat similar to descriptions of the Amazigh process, though unlike the more Westerly Amazigh, little information exists to suggest that Jewish people were among those who did these adornments, and subsequently there is a lack of evidence that Egyptians used harqus to make these adornments without them being permanent. Unfortunately this could merely be the lack of research into the practice in Egypt compared to the Maghreb, and a particular lack of research on Egyptian Jews- especially those who had lived in Egypt for a long time.
Sources:
https://rawi-magazine.com/articles/tattoos/
Winifred Blackman, the Fellahin of Upper Egypt
Edward Lane, the Manners & Customs of the Modern Egyptians
Amalia Levanoni, The New Cambridge History of Islam. Volume 2, The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries
Malak Zaalouk, The pedagogy of empowerment : community schools as a social movement in Egypt
Gabriel Baer, Studies in the Social History of Modern Egypt
For the sake of clarity, both Blackman and Lane have a clear racial bias against Egyptians in general, and Black Egyptians in specific. Blackman asserts at least once that indigenous Egyptians are not Black (while implying that Black people are lesser), which is not necessarily true, and repeats racial stereotypes. Lane is similarly biased, antisemitic, and his work includes him commenting on Egyptian women being most beautiful when they're around 15-18, and discussing their breasts.
