(Mark of the Crocodile)
Listed below are the areas in which scarification has been found to be used by the tribes living there:
- Nuba
- Shilluk
- DR Congo
Many tribes have been studied to better understand the meaning behind scarification as a ritual, and it has been discovered there are a variety of different reasons behind the marks created, though there are still a vast amount of similarities despite the distance and lack of communications.
It is very common for a person to under-go scarification as a right of passage, for some it's a mark of reaching adulthood and for other there are certain areas or patterns used to mark different achievements they have met in life, for example, giving birth. It is also thought of as a way to separate ones self from other cultures and animals.
In some tribes, an individual will receive a line of dotted scars down their torso, one for every person they have killed, used as a way to prove their strength over others and warn or scare other tribes away from their land and any possible fights.
Though it's also thought that scars are common for signifying heightened sexuality, mostly in females.
Piercings and Stretching
It has become common in Western culture for people to have a variety of different piercings all over their bodies, many stretching their ear lobes, much fewer stretching other areas of their body. However, African tribes are well known for stretching areas of their body as a sign of beauty.
African tribes commonly use lip plates and stretch both their upper and/or bottom lip, though most have stopped upper lip stretching.
They are also known for using rings around their necks to stretch their neck upwards, a long and slender neck is also considered beautiful and elegant and makes a female more desirable.
Skull Binding
(Lidompo)
Though not many tribes were involved with this particular body modification, it is also a well known one. From a young age, mostly female children would have their head bound to make their skull appear longer and more elegant. Very elaborate hairstyles would also be used to adorn the head and make it appear taller, though as skull binding was eradicated, the hairstyles remained to imitate the effect.
For my project, I am very interested in recreating the look of scarification with make up and creating patterns over the body via this method. If I achieve the look well, I would be very happy and excited to use it in one of my final looks.
Reference:
Arnold Rubin (1995) Marks of Civilization: Artistic Transformations of the Human Body. Regents of the University of California. Singapore.
Karl Groning (2001) Decorated Skin: A World Survey of Body Art. Thames and Hudson. Germany.
Rufus C.Camphausen (1997) Return of the Tribal: A Celebration of Body Adornment. Park Street Press, Rochester, Vermont. India.
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