Ace of diamonds - this concept came to us from the world of card games. Tambourines - a suit depicted as a red diamond. Ace is a playing card of the highest or lowest value (depending on the rules of the game). In certain social groups, a tambourine ace has its own specific meaning.
Ace of diamonds on the back. Value in prison
About this symbol can be heard in the song of Michael Circle "Golden Domes". There are the following lines: "There was an ace of diamonds on the back, and an ace of crosses stood at the feet." So what does this ace of diamonds mean? Earlier, during the time of imperial penal servitude, a flap in the form of a rhombus was sewn on the back of the robe of prisoners. This was done in order to make it easier for a prisoner to aim in case of escape.
There were certain requirements for a diamonds ace on the back with the meaning described above. Firstly, the sewn-in flap was supposed to differ in color from the entire robe. At Sakhalin penal servitude, it was first yellow (the color of the Cossacks from the Amur River), and then they began to make such a patch black. In addition to the ace of diamonds on the back, the value of the convict was still carried by the half-shaven head and scorched letters on the prisoner's forehead ("CAT" - "convict", "convict"). Later, of course, they refused the stigmatization, only the patch and the shaved head remained.
Alternative meanings
A tambourine ace has several meanings on its back. Even in prison culture, this sign has several meanings. Ace of tambourine tattoos marked card rogues of the highest level. The ace of diamonds was also marked with the insignia of those prisoners who were sent to a special regime colony for the most brutal repeat offenders, including under articles implying capital punishment.
You can read about the ace of diamonds on the back in literary texts, for example, by Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin (Echoes - the hero Balalaykin wore the ace of diamonds on his back), Nikolai Alexandrovich Nekrasov (Contemporaries: “Nothing will be new, If tomorrow he has nothing On the back of the ace of diamonds we will see ... "), Alexander Blok (" 12 ":" You need the ace of diamonds on the back "). Blok has a special meaning of a diamond of diamonds on his back. The poem "12" is filled with many hidden characters. So, the “tambourine ace” as a sign of the convict emphasizes the robbery in the heroes. It turns out that the revolutionaries are still destroyers (of the old system) and robbers. Not just because the sky above them is black, but before them is darkness.
The interpretation of card aces is also given in the Christian religion. In religious terms, the ace of spades is the spear used to pierce Jesus Christ, the cross means the cross on which it was crucified, the diamond of ace is the nails driven into the hands and feet, and, finally, the hearts mean the sponge soaked in vinegar, which was wetted by the lips of the crucified.
The value of aces with different suits today
Of course, now no one sews a rhombus on the clothes of prisoners. However, in prisons tattoos with card aces are still stuffed, and each of them has its own specific meaning.
- The ace of diamonds suggests that the owner of such a tattoo is a highly qualified card crook.
- Ace of clubs indicates a thief in law.
- Ace of spades is a sign of criminal authority.
- Ace of Hearts - This tattoo was most likely made by force. So note the prisoners who were persuaded to same-sex intimate relationships.