Guest Speaker - Kieron LeVine "Tribal Body Modification"

Today we had a guest speaker called Kieron LeVine come in to talk to us about Tribal Body Modification. I have heard of certain cultures doing it before but it was really interesting to go into depth about the different types of modification each tribe does and what it all means. 

Scarification 

Africa - Scarification is a process where patterns are created in the skin by cutting and raising scars. It has a variety of meanings, one of them being that it shows a woman can bare pain if she can go through this process. It was also a symbol of strength, fortitude and courage. Nowadays it is more common to just find this on elderly people in Africa.

http://www.tumblr.com/search/African+scarification - 15.10.14

Nuba - Here scarification shows a reflection of responsibilities. Women would have this process done after each child she had starting with the torso, breasts then back. Men have much more distinctive patterns though they do not have as many as women.

http://www.pinterest.com/debraleethomson/hiute/ - 15.10.14

Shilluk - This tribe has a unique style of scarification that is known as the "Pearling Process" which is done by using fish hooks under the skin. 

http://www.paulbanksphoto.com/viewcategory/1 - 15.10.14

Luba -Scarification for this tribe is used as a way of encoding who people are and more patterns get added as they get older and wiser.

http://www.bookdrum.com/books/heart-of-darkness/9780140186529/bookmarks-51-75.html?bookId=284 - 5.10.14

Yoruba - Like some other tribes, there marking are used to show resistance to pain. The markings they practice are called "Kolo" markings which are short, shallow and closely spaced cuts are marked into the skin.

http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/scarification.html - 15.10.14

Omo Valley - They still scar themselves to this day and as with many tribes they mean nothing. 

http://www.randafricanart.com/Scarification_and_Cicatrisation_among_African_cultures.html - 15.10.14

Piercings

Africa - As well as scarification Africa is famous for the large stretched lip piercings. The holes are done using wooden pegs and women make the lip plates themselves.

http://lauradutoit.hubpages.com/hub/Have-Mursi-on-the-Lip-Plate - 15.10.14

Makonde - They also have lip plates, the difference is that they are thicker. You can also get double lip plates which include the top lip as well as the bottom.

http://www.piercingtime.com/piercing/lip-plate/page/15/ - 15.10.14

Neck Rings

Ndebele - You receive a neck ring in this culture once you are married, it's not so much a body modification as the neck isn't physically stretch it's just a trick of the mind. The number of rings depict the wealth of the married couple, this is only seen now on the older generation and not very common in the younger people anymore.

http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/LY004596/ndebele-woman-wearing-traditional-neck-rings - 15.10.14

Skull Binding

Mangbetu - Practiced by the older generation as it was banned in the 1950's. Skull binding implies an expansion of knowledge and at times is exaggerated by doing different hairstyle that elongate the head.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Mangbetu-vrouw_met_schedeldeformatie_TMnr_60033946.jpg - 15.10.14

Tooth Modification

Japan - Women coat their teeth in black lacquer by chewing a seed called Betel. It's said to be a sign of oral hygiene and is still something that is done today. You can even buy the seeds on e-bay! 

 http://www.dentaldynamicsonline.com/japanese-teeth-blackening-ohaguro - 15.10.14

Indonesia - Here they chisel the teeth which is intended to keep spirits at bay.

http://idigculture.com/beauty-rituals-teeth-chiseling - 15.10.14