Shan people
Among the Bamar, the custom of tattooing originates from the Shan people, who believed that tattoos had magical or spiritual connotations, used in a similar manner as amulets and protective charms. This practice coincided with the Shan States' control of Upper Burma from the 14th to 17th centuries, as the Shan, themselves tattooed, introduced this practice to the Bamar.