Editing Kurds (section)

===Tattoos===
{{Main|Deq (tattoo)}}
[[File:Kurdish-Deq.jpg|thumb|alt=A woman's tattooed right hand|Kurdish woman with deq tattoo]]

Adorning the body with [[tattoo]]s (''deq'' in Kurdish) is widespread among the Kurds, even though permanent tattoos are not permissible in Sunni Islam. Therefore, these traditional tattoos are thought to derive from pre-Islamic times.<ref name="Immigration Museum">{{cite web|url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/pages/14387/kurds-in-australia-brochure.pdf?epslanguage=en|publisher=Museumvictoria.com.au|title=Immigration Museum (2010) Survival of a culture: Kurds in Australia|access-date=7 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326153229/http://museumvictoria.com.au/pages/14387/kurds-in-australia-brochure.pdf?epslanguage=en|archive-date=26 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Tattoo ink is made by mixing [[soot]] with (breast) milk and the poisonous liquid from the gall bladder of an animal. The design is drawn on the skin using a thin twig and is injected under the skin using a needle. These have a wide variety of meanings and purposes, among which are protection against evil or illnesses; beauty enhancement; and the showing of tribal affiliations. [[Religious symbolism]] is also common among both traditional and modern Kurdish tattoos. Tattoos are more prevalent among women than among men, and were generally worn on feet, the chin, foreheads and other places of the body.<ref name="Immigration Museum"/><ref>W. Floor (2011) [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kalkubi "Ḵālkubi"] ''Encyclopædia Iranica''. Retrieved 7 July 2013.</ref>

The popularity of permanent, traditional tattoos has greatly diminished among newer generation of Kurds. However, modern tattoos are becoming more prevalent; and temporary tattoos are still being worn on special occasions (such as [[henna]], the night before a wedding) and as tribute to the cultural heritage.<ref name="Immigration Museum"/>