African tribal body modification and its influence on the west

There are a large number of people who take their body modification inspiration from the native cultures of Africa, from Egypt in the north to South Africa the African continent is awash with body modification ideas.

Most tribes in Africa are well used to various kinds of body modification and in fact the stretched earlobe that has become more and more popular in western civilization in recent years began life in Africa. The Sara and Mursi tribes have used extreme body modifications such as the lip plate and the stretched earlobe for generations, the lip plates themselves carry different and significant meanings that are specific to a certain tribe. As a woman who did not get her ears pierced until her late teens I can honestly say that the thought of having a lip plate inserted makes me feel as uncomfortable as the pictures of those that have had it done look.

Body modification became popular amongst African tribes due to the fact that clothing was in short supply and so different kinds of body modification became popular in order to easily identify other members of the tribe. Scarification was one of the easiest body modifications for the tribesmen to do this involves using a sharp implement to cut the skin, this then causes scar tissue to grow leaving a permanent scar in the shape of a certain design.

Most governments in Africa have now banned the practice of scarification; however, certain tribes in countries such as Nigeria, Zaire, and Ethiopia defy this ban and still practice scarification.

In some tribes, scars are administered to tribal members depending on what age they are, and this includes newborn children and it is common among some African tribes to facially scar newborn children, something which seems to be bordering on the barbaric to us in the west yet seems perfectly acceptable to them.