Throughout history, art has been a powerful communication device, used to express one’s sense of self and reflect the worldviews of artists, patrons, and communities. As a visual language, artists have relied on the formal elements of art to construct complex messages that are interpreted and reinterpreted across time and place, allowing viewers an opportunity to gain insights into specific contexts from our global experience. The use of the arts as an expression of group identity across the African continent is not a new concept.
Body modification has always been an integral part of African culture. It has been widely used by many West African tribes to mark milestone stages in both men and women’s lives, such as puberty and marriage. While body modifications can be something as easy as an ear-piercing or a simple mark on the face, some cultures have taken it a step further.
During the Age of Exploration, Europeans became aware of the relatively extreme forms of body art practiced in Sub-Saharan Africa. Because there were a plethora of meanings that were embodied within the sacred art forms of the skin, African body art moved far beyond the Western construct of “art” itself.
For many thousands of years, tattoos were seen as a way of curing disease, protecting against spirits, showing affiliation towards certain groups/tribes, and reflecting personality traits such as bravery, courage, and social status. African tattoos are considered lived experiences, and not always for body adornment or ornamental purposes. It is a shared experience, tying the person to their tribe or people.
This article takes an encyclopedic look at tattooing practices throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and includes the island of Madagascar. It should be noted that this article is by no means complete as there are many other groups that practiced tattooing throughout the regions described here.
Read also: African Black Soap Ingredients
CARTA: Permanent Body Modification Throughout Our History
Types of Body Modifications in Africa
Several forms of body modification have been practiced across the African continent for centuries, each with unique cultural significance.
Scarification
For many African cultures, they turn to scarification rather than tattoos for their body adornment. The process of scarification involved using a sharp instrument to cut the skin deeply enough for a scar to form over the area. Sections of skin were sliced into shapes and patterns so that when the skin healed and scarred, the shape/pattern would remain forever. This process of scarification or tattooing was seen as a huge triumph of bravery and courage, an initiation process or a rite of passage. This was considered a dangerous practice many years ago due to the lack of suitable healing methods in these times.
Scarred designs mark important moments in a person’s life, including puberty and childbirth. The Yoruba peoples acknowledge the painful nature of scarification and use the process as a symbol of bravery. For the Yoruba tribe, tattoos and scarification were used for both beautification and a representation of courage for the individual.
The Makonde also used scarification as a way to heal wounds. The Makonde people of Tanzania often had lizard markings on their chest as a way to symbolize fertility in women and virility in men.
In cicatrization, or scarification, raised scars (keloids) are produced by incision or burning, usually in decorative patterns. Scarification occurred primarily among darker-skinned peoples in much of Africa, among Australian Aborigines and the Maori of New Zealand, and in many Melanesian and New Guinean groups and was practiced both for aesthetic effect and to indicate status or lineage.
Read also: Shea Body Butter Review: Tree Hut Moroccan Rose
Examples of scarification traditions include:
- Wodaabe: Young Wodaabe men in Niger with facial and torso scar tattoos.
- Tsemay: The Tsemay are an Omo Valley people of southern Ethiopia that practice tattooing which is called do-ey.
- Yoruba: The Yoruba peoples acknowledge the painful nature of scarification and use the process as a symbol of bravery.
Tattooing
Put simply, tattooing is the act of injecting pigment into the skin. By piercing the first layers of the skin repeatedly, one can literally draw on flesh, leaving intricate art pieces on the body in a multitude of colors. Naturally, tattooing is amongst the oldest forms of body modification.
The word “tattoo” itself comes from the Samoan language, where tatau simply means “to strike (the skin)”. The Samoan peoples practiced extensive tattooing - all across their faces and bodies. And when the European explorers first encountered them, the word caught on, as did the trend of tattooing itself! To the Europeans, it was a real novelty - and a long lost part of their history.
Tattoos vary across regions of Africa and each tribe/people have different types of tattoos that they choose to brand themselves with, all with different meanings. These tattoos were not usually applied all at once, and instead were added onto over time.
Examples of tattooing traditions include:
Read also: Types of African Body Wraps
- Fulani: Perhaps one of the most heavily tattooed of all Fulani groups are the Wodaabe. In the Fulfilde language spoken by all Fulani tribes, Wodaabe means “people of the taboo.” This moniker is appropriate because the Wodaabe are governed by a series of customary laws and behaviors passed down by their ancestors that emphasize humbleness and modesty, patience and fortitude, hospitality and physical beauty.
- Amharic: The Amharic people of the northern Ethiopia have a rich tattooing tradition that perhaps stretches back to 330 A.D. when their people converted to Christianity. Many wear the distinctive “iron hand” cross as a tattoo on their sternum or foreheads that resembles the sun and acts as a talisman to ward off evil spirits or permanently mark their devotion to God.
Lip Plates
In some parts of Africa women start to stretch their lips six months before marriage. 2. The Mursi and Surma people who inhabit the lower Omo River valley begin the excrutiatingly painfull process (The girl has her bottom teeth removed to make space for a lip plate) of lip stretching about six to 12 months before marriage. This is usually around the age of 15 to 18 when the lip is first pierced. Over time, the peg is replaced by larger pegs, and eventually, a plate is inserted into the hole.
The lip plate, also known as a lip plug or lip disc, is a form of body modification. Increasingly large discs (usually circular, and made from clay or wood) are inserted into a pierced hole in either the upper or lower lip, or both, thereby stretching it. The term labret denotes all kinds of pierced-lip ornaments, including plates and plugs.
The size of the lip plate indicates the number of cattle the husband will have to pay for her dowry.
Teeth Sharpening
The teeth sharpening ritual is most popular among the Makonde people in southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique, the majority of ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo including the Bopoto and the Zappo Zap people. Some tribes in the Central African Republic, the Bemba of Zambia, and even the Yao of Malawi and parts of Zambia also practised the teeth sharpening ritual.
Teeth sharpening was done for various reasons among these tribes. For some, the ritual was done to initiate young boys and girls who had reached puberty into adulthood. For other tribes, the teeth sharpening ritual was a general part of their custom and any person belonging to such a tribe was expected to have sharpened teeth at an expected age.
In Africa, the Herero people practiced an even more brutal tradition. Here, the young boys and girls would have four of their lower teeth knocked out. This was followed by the upper teeth being sharpened into “inverted V” shapes. The tribe believed that a girl without this appearance would never be able to attract a partner. Filed teeth were a great sign of beauty - no matter how painful the procedure was.
Body Modifications as Expressions of Identity and Status
In addition to expressing group identity and affiliation, visual arts and adornment are used to assert individual roles, affiliations, and entitlements, as well as the personal and socio-political status of its owner or wearer.
Ndebele arts often feature recognizable visual conventions, including the use of geometric forms, blocks of bold colors with black outlines, and white backgrounds. Furthermore, Ndebele individuals create unique artforms that assert both their cultural belonging and individual identity. For example, older married women have promoted their social standing by wearing aprons called ijogolo and amaphotho.
South Sotho populations in South Africa and Lesotho also use the visual arts to express belonging and identity. Although South Sotho-speakers have long lived within 150 miles of Ndebele populations, their arts of adornment display completely different visual forms and imagery. South Sotho beadwork shows minute visual details expressing specific genealogy and family lineage. Compared to examples of beadwork created by Ndebele artists, we see completely different forms-a fringed waist skirt as opposed to a broad leather apron-and the use of color and compositional devices is strikingly distinct, allowing the object to communicate the wearer’s status and affiliation at a glance.
Often given as part of a woman’s dowry, elaborate ensembles of precious metals maintain intrinsic commercial value and are also understood to contain baraka, a blessing power recognized across many Islamic societies.
Within the Bamileke kingdom in western Cameroon, performance arts and adornment are used to express power, wealth, and belonging. This is perhaps best seen among members of the Kuosi society, which was formerly comprised of royalty, titleholders, and high-ranking warriors, and now includes wealthy members of the community. Society members perform with cloth masks mimicking the head of an elephant, which are embroidered with beads and cowry shells. The glass beads and cowries are overt symbols of wealth and largesse, as beads were formerly luxury items obtained through trade and cowries were once used as currency.
When looking at his carved Veranda Post of Enthroned King and Senior Wife, one immediately notices unique accouterments that provide a wealth of information at a glance. Although the seated king is smaller in scale compared to his accompanying wife, his political and spiritual authority is expressed through royal regalia that would be locally recognizable. The conical headpiece depicts a crown (adenla) worn by Yoruba kings who can trace their lineage back to the gods (Orisha) themselves, referencing a ruler’s earthly and spiritual authority. Adenla are understood to be filled with empowering substances that, when put into contact with the wearer’s head, modify the individual and thus provide them with greater insight and wisdom. The small bird on top of the crown also signifies status and authority, and is understood to represent the collective power of women (“Our mothers”) in society.
Here is a table summarizing some of the body modifications and their cultural significance:
| Body Modification | Tribe/People | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Scarification | Yoruba, Makonde | Bravery, beautification, healing, fertility, virility |
| Tattooing | Fulani, Amharic | Cultural identity, warding off evil spirits, religious devotion |
| Lip Plates | Mursi, Surma | Dowry, beauty |
| Teeth Sharpening | Makonde, Herero | Initiation, beauty, attracting a partner |
While the aforementioned examples provide glimpses into the roles of adornment in specific regions, periods, and contexts, one must not overlook the impact of both continuity and change in art production across the African continent. In addition to expressing local definitions of identity, status, and power, arts of adornment equally highlight the contributions and position of African artists and patrons in global exchange.
Popular articles:
tags: #Africa
