NU ID:36533636
April 24th 2015
Body Art in Different Cultures
Introduction
Body art (body modification) is used differently all around the world to represent aspects of cultures. Arts being practiced, range from a variety of modifications to the body. Some of the most common type of body art are piercing, tattoos, and scarification. These methods are often used as a rites of passage, aesthetic reasons, religious reasons, and to show self-expression. The three different cultures being talked about are the, Tikopia, Marquesas, and Tsonga. All three cultures use body art through the process of tattooing. These different cultures do not do this art for the same reasoning which is one way to distinguish the different cultures.
Cultural …show more content…
In past times the Ba-Tsongas used to make big pimples by tattooing on their foreheads, nose, and cheeks. The patterns were different for men and women. The men would do just one straight line down the middle of their face from their forehead to chin while the women had this as well as two horizontal lines on the forehead and three on their cheeks (Junod 178). This custom can still be observed by the Ba-Chopi people. The different arrangement of these pimples is used to help identify the different. These markings are done as an initiation for puberty and when a girl get this done to her she hides herself for a week, after which she will end up showing herself to a boy who will congratulate her. He will do this by saying “It is pretty to tattoo yourself. Otherwise your belly would be like the belly of a fish, or of a white person (Junod …show more content…
These arts can be seen in different form such as piercing, tattoos, and scarification. The three cultures discussed showed a great representation of tattooing around the world. Each culture had its own unique background for why who and how it was used in their different communities. The different reasons for why the culture participates in this art helps detached their cultures from that of a similar one. These different reasons range from a few common theme such as a rites of passage, aesthetic reasons, religious reasons, and to show self-expression but the twist on these themes is what helps make each culture its