Is it a new form of fashion to commemorate the beloved statesman, Nelson Mandela?

South Africans are preparing on Dec. 5 to mark a year since the death of Nelson Mandela, and tattoo studios report an increased demand for Madiba-inspired tattoos, according to an AFP report in Mail&Guardian.

Famous quotes from Mandela – most of them lifted from his best-selling autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom” – are in demand from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

And South Africans are keeping the memory alive in tattoos.

“It’s really becoming popular nowadays,” said Chris De Villiers, a tattoo artist at The Body Architects Tattoo Studio in Cape Town. “It’s not something that just happened overnight. It slowly but surely got popular.”

In an AFP video, businessman Leeshan Ramasamy said his five hours of suffering getting a Mandela tattoo doesn’t make up for the 27 years Mandela spent in prison. “Giving him another 27 years of life by people seeing my tattoo is more important to me than anything else,” he said.

Local media have been engaging South Africans in conversation about what the country learned from Mandela and other leaders, and what the future holds for a new generation of leaders.

South Africa’s Science and Technology minister Naledi Pandor described
Mandela as a man of humor and lightness. She spoke at the tribute
exhibition to commemorate a year since Mandela’s death in Johannesburg.

Coca-Cola paid tribute to the anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist in a video of its own.