Pintaderas are stamps made by the indigenous people of the Canary Islands, usually from baked clay, although there are also wooden ones, in different geometric shapes, triangles, circles, squares, semicircles… The use of these stamps is not known for certain, but it is believed that they served both as body decoration, like tattoos, and as identification of a person or family on different media. Their size varies, with examples ranging from 2 to 12 cm. It is difficult to establish the origin of pintaderas. Some documents relate them to artistic expressions from Mediterranean Europe, while others compare them to the pintaderas of the Mexican indigenous peoples. On the other hand, the theory that they originated from contact with the inhabitants of North Africa, who also made and used pintaderas, especially the Berbers, remains valid.

 Interestingly, no two pintaderas are alike; each one has a unique design.

At Chirinkito we include Canarian symbols (pintaderas) within other tribal tattoo styles, both to honor our origins and to create unique designs.