The many things that we can do to our body, in the name of fashion, are certainly limitless. And if our threshold of bearing pain is higher then doing all these things becomes all the more easier.
But there’s one simple fact that we have to keep in mind that if something is attractive to us it might not be the same with the other person. The idea or concept of beauty and attractiveness is not the same throughout the world. Just keep in mind the phrase that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, everyone’s perception of beauty is different.
So before we consider a body modification disgusting, or a sign of bad taste, we should remember that the idea of beauty and attractiveness is not universal. Just show a fashion magazine, with our top models, to some African tribe. There’s a chance that they might think that these women are ugly.
Below are some of the extreme tribal body modifications.
1. Teeth Sharpening:
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The practice of tooth sharpening is seen by some tribes as a practice that adds beauty to a person’s smile. According to some tribes our teeth represent negative feelings and it sounds logical when we see that people grind their teeth when they encounter something unpleasant.
According to another theory its a desire to imitate sharks while some are of the opinion that this practice is to gurantee the fidelity of married women by making them ugly on purpose.
2. Scarification:
Unlike tattoos scars remain permanent as they disturb the skin’s ability to regenerate.This process is done by creating wounds and leaving them unattended. This delay in healing makes the scars to stand out. During the whole process no consideration is given to hygiene and as a result the scars become infectious.
This extreme form of body modification appears everywhere , although its more common in African communities. One reason for it may be that scars are more visible on dark skin than tattoos.
3. Skull Binding:
The reason behind these elongated and deformed skulls is the result of applying pressure on the baby’s skull during the early years.
As our bones are quite soft just after birth so these ancient tribes created these deformities making use of this. Though we find it hard to see any logic behind this practice. We in modern times find it hard to imagine that how a protruding skull can make you cooler and more attractive.
The most famous cases of cranial deformation come from South America, where the remains of the Nazca people puzzled scientists for decades.
4. Neck Accentuation:
Neck rings are worn by the Kayan women in Myanmar as a long neck is considered to be a sign of beauty by them. Because when we add ring after ring this forces the neck to become longer by creating more space between each vertebrae.
This whole procedure might sound painful but this is not so The human body has great adaptability and neck accentuation is one of the simplest and easiest practices.
5. Lip Plate Stretching:
Today’s modern practice is adding botox to the lips to make them beautiful whereas in African tribes it was the lip plate stretching. The technique is quite simple and involves piercing, the opening is further spread by inserting bigger objects in it.
The human tissue has an incredible ability to adapt to any changes and this was shown when 25 cm diameter plates were inserted in the opening.
The size of the plate indicates the status of a person, the bigger the plate the higher the status.
6. Foot Binding:
This procedure is almost the same as that of having elongated skulls. The same procedure works here that if you keep some body part in a forced position for some time it will take the same position.
This method was quite common in Imperial China where the non-working women could afford it. Foot-binding was the subsitute for high heels and the body gained as much as 5 cm in height in this method.
This practice gradually came to an end as authorities instructed the people that it was harmful to the body.Nevertheless some Chinese women have become a great tourist attraction because they still have this disability.
7. Nose Plugs:
In our society its seen that girls go more smoothly into maturity but the same can not be said for the Apatani women who undergo a full ritual and are required to wear nose plugs.
The explanation for this ritual is that the Apatani tribe was invaded many times and often they women were kidnapped.
So they decided to make their wives less attractive by tattooing their faces and adding nose plugs. This practice became so common that soon it became a tradition.
Although this tradition has nearly ended but there are some women who still have this strange body modification attract thousands of tourists each year.
8. Ear Stretching:
One of the most common forms of body modifications it is considered to be a great backup alternative for tribes that considered lip stretching to be out.
Our body tissues are very flexible if the force is applied slowly and softly. The whole procedure can be done bo ourselves.
Stretched ear lobes count as one of the most common forms of body modifications people endured since ancient times.
Ear stretching was a great backup alternative for tribes that considered lip stretching to be out of their league.
Every human tissue is extremely flexible if the stretching force is applied gradually and with moderation. We described the method in previous items on our list. It is good to know that you can do this virtually on your own. The size of the stretching was used to indicate social position and wealth.
9. Finger Cutting:
What a strange practice, you literally fail to comprehend as to why a person would incur this disability and undergo such excruciating pain?
Its answer might come as a surprise because its a practice of the Dani tribe Papua, Indonesia that they perform this ritual to grief the loss of loved ones.
This practice is really confusing and you are left to wonder that why do these people who are living with such limited resources further limit themselves. And then we have to keep in mind that the environment they live in really lacks sanitation and there’s a big chance that these wounds may get infected easily.
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