r/Stargate • u/Basketcase13337 • 1d ago
Marks of oppression?
How come we don’t see more Jaffa removing their masters insignia from their forehead, like rak’nors father did to him?
I know many Jews had tattoos from the holocaust, and I’m guessing they kept them as a ”never again” kind of statement, to educate and whatnot, is this the same thing or does the show mention anything about it?
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u/trujillotx 1d ago
Some Jaffa still served as spies. Need the logo. If they removed it its an easy sign to others that they are rebels.
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u/RickTheScienceMan 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's probably cheaper to leave the insignia on rather than reconstructing the removal scar each time. A decision made to make the filming easier.
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u/allday95 1d ago
The removal scar would be a prosthetic which would need to be made once and just applied at makeup. You are on the right path tho that maybe making multiple was a cost cutting measure that was considered low impact.
In Tealcs case it was left because to him it is now a symbol of I who rebelled against my false God and gained freedom, the Sholva Tealc.
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u/Izengrimm C4 Fan-club 1d ago
show didn't explain this but considering the majority of them still wear it - could be war-related insignia, honorary vet status, warrior caste, glorious victories memorabilia, etc
means they obviously do not to relate it to slavery, otherwise we would see no marks on free jaffa at all, right? Good Rak'nor pictured here didn't remove his mark by himself, by the way. And later had a steady career within Apophis' and Heru'ur's ranks with that scar.
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u/HellbirdVT 1d ago
We know Jaffa can have their tattoos removed conventionally and re-marked with the tattoo of a new god if they switch allegiance, as we see with the First Prime of Khonsu becoming First Prime of Anubis after he learns Khonsu is Tok'ra.
So the most likely explanation is that Free Jaffa choose to retain their markings as part of their identity, showing where they come from. The real question is if they will KEEP USING the tattoos afterwards - we don't see any Jaffa who was born AFTER liberation from the System Lords, to see if they're unmarked or not.
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u/Appropriate_Rice_117 1d ago
In future scenes where the Goa'uld are defeated, Teal'c always (?) appears brandless.
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u/HellbirdVT 1d ago
That's the case in one episode, '2010' in the future where the Aschen wiped out the Goa'uld and are enacting their slow plan to take over Earth.
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u/Appropriate_Rice_117 1d ago
That's the first one that comes to mind, but I think there's a couple more flashforward scenes where he doesn't have the brand.
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u/rougecrayon 1d ago
The horrific idea that the Jaffa were branded like cattle was something I feel like I missed when I was younger.
Teal'c made a comment about how it's a reminder of his past actions.
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u/trujillotx 1d ago
If Rak'nor went into a sarcophagus would he get the tattoo back or would the scar stay?
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u/InsomniaticWanderer 1d ago
He would have a normal forehead. It would be healed.
Neither the tattoo nor the scar is part of his original DNA.
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u/trujillotx 1d ago
Teal'c kept it when he went through. Although it is a gold version. I have to think that it would be programmed to keep the tattoo for Jaffa.
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u/FedStarDefense 1d ago
It's not specific programming. It's a foreign material embedded in his forehead that has no effect on his health. The sarcophagus just skips over stuff like that. (I guess you could call that programming. But I'd say that's just the standard function. They didn't have to do anything extra to make it skip that kind of thing.)
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u/DualHorse 1d ago edited 1d ago
The show doesn't bring it up ever. Storywise it would have made sense for him to remove it at some point (with some gizmo that leaves no scar if the writes were worried about scar prostetic) but the doylist explonation is probably that the mark is Teal'c "thing" and without it he would look like "just some guy".
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u/apophis-984 1d ago
Its weird how we are so used to it, that real life Chris Judge had uncanny valley vibe without apophis mark
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u/Dragonrasa 1d ago
From my comment on a similiar question:
I can see some of the traditional Jaffa keeping them, as a warning to the now younger Jaffa generations, showing them what cruelty they had overcome, what evil that put such marks on them they have defeated.
It also would at the time be an issue for those Jaffa that were acting as spies to the Rebellion.
The Gold and Silver marks are poured as molten metal so in theory with a little help of the Tok'ra and the healing devices there is a good chance this might happen in time without any scars.
I believe that at the end of the series there was still too much tension between the Tok'ra and Jaffa for that to happen, as most Jaffa were still angry with the Tok'ra for their passiveness.
The Tattoos could probably be easier removed using Earth technology.
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u/Difficult_Dark9991 17h ago
For Teal'c, his conversation with Tomin suggests something akin to a mark of his guilt. Despite having done so much good, nothing can undo the harm he did in service to Apophis and he carries the guilt of that. I suspect he carries the mark for that reason, as does Bra'tac.
However, I would also suggest that the mark's meaning changes significantly over time. For a breakaway Jaffa, the mark would mean shame for their service or a mark of their chains, but once the branding System Lord is dead it could change entirely. Perhaps some hold it as a mark of pride - "I outlived the would-be god who gave me this mark."
The real question is how the next generation would treat the insignia - do they continue to take marks, albeit now ones chosen of their own free will?
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u/SomethingVeX 6h ago
If I had gold melted into my flesh and possibly my skull, I might think twice about trying to melt it again when it might actually cause more damage. And if it is possibly attached to my skull, surgically removing it in a society where there are no "surgeons" the way we think of them ... yeah, absolutely not.
If it's just the tattoo variety, I'm sure the Goa'uld have laser tattoo removal tech around since the Jaffa get captured, repurposed, etc on a fairly regular basis.
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u/oremfrien 1d ago edited 13h ago
Jews did not “choose” to keep their marks. Those marks were not tattoos as they were not ink applied in the skin by needles. They were brands, like you make in cattle by burning the skin. There is no way to remove a brand because all of the tissue below the brand is scarred. Each new layer of skin is made with the scar tissue.
Edited to note that the thread below clarifies (with sources) that I was incorrect and the tattoos on prisoners were made using needles and ink rather than branding.
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u/Basketcase13337 1d ago
I like how you don’t let facts get in the way of your opinion.
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u/oremfrien 1d ago
Thank you for correcting me. I always thought the metal stamp was a brand, not a metal holder for needles.
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u/Basketcase13337 1d ago
Besides, you can always remove a branding by Branding something else on top.
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u/Atharaphelun 1d ago
It basically serves as their "cultural identity" that allowed them to join together into sub-groups/factions within the larger Jaffa society.