Body alterations Slide 2 BODY PAINTING The African Face Painting
Tradition By an eHow Contributor African Men Painting faces with
different patterns and symbols has long been part of the tradition
of many cultures, including the African nations. Face painting,
which is usually complemented with body paint, is done according to
tribal rites and cultural activities of specific African tribal
groups. This tradition also carries different purposes and meanings
for different tribes such as hunting, specific events, rituals and
tribal status. Read more: The African Face Painting Tradition |
eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/about_6696477_african-face-painting-tradition.html#ixzz1btbX31j2
Slide 3 Efik Face and body painting carry a lot of symbolism to the
Efik tribe. This ethnic group, which resides primarily in
southeastern Nigeria, uses face painting to signify love and
purity. During the old times in the tribe, the painting of faces
was a way of expressing the tribe natives own identity. Face
painting also included patterns for identifying families and clans.
In some cases, face painting also symbolizes the happiness of
giving birth to a child. For single women, a painted face is the
equivalent of an initiation rite for the bearer to formally enter
the society of women. For families, painted faces also indicate
their happiness for some good news they have received. The native
female dancers, called Abang, use face painting as way of
expressing their beauty, love and complete femininity. Read more:
The African Face Painting Tradition | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/about_6696477_african-face-painting-
tradition.html#ixzz1btbsICAk Slide 4 Slide 5 Xhosa The Xhosa tribe
obtains the paint they use on their face from an area called
Hogsback. They call this place Qabimbola, which means red clay on
the face. The purposes for these tribal people to paint their faces
are varied. Some use it as a protection from the sunlight. The
women put white paint on their faces as a mark for beauty. During
the manhood initiation rite called Abakwetha, the young men have
their faces painted first with white mud. After the circumcision
ceremony, their faces will be covered with mud signifying their
readiness for complete adult male responsibilities. Read more: The
African Face Painting Tradition | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/about_6696477_african-
face-painting-tradition.html#ixzz1btcInZQr Slide 6 Slide 7 Slide 8
Pondo The Pondo tribe in Pondoland of the South African region
celebrates the tradition called umgidi. This refers to the
initiation of a young woman to become a diviner or priestess of the
tribe. The final initiation day is marked by the woman appearing at
her homestead naked to the waist with her face and torso painted
with white clay embellished with idwabe leaves. The paint pattern
created on her torso and face symbolizes her link to her ancestors
who are believed to be the reason for her illness and recovery. The
women dance to express gratitude to her ancestors for restoring her
health. Read more: The African Face Painting Tradition | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/about_6696477_african-
face-painting-tradition.html#ixzz1btdTYFDp Slide 9 Karo The Karo
tribes located in Southern Omo Valley in Ethiopia are known to be
masters of traditional body and face painting. They paint their
faces and bodies as a valuable part of their dance feast and
ceremonies such as for courtships. They use pulverized white chalk,
black charcoal, yellow, ochre and red earth to create striking and
elaborate painting patterns to emulate the plumage of the guinea
fowl. These patterns are usually traced by just using their hands
and fingers. Read more: The African Face Painting Tradition |
eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6696477_african-
face-painting-tradition.html#ixzz1bteEUPr8 Slide 10 Slide 11 Slide
12 Woodabe The Woodabe tribe, also called the Bororo tribe, is a
group of pastoral nomads found in the eastern Niger. The tribe
celebrates the Gerewol festival, a special venue that gives men the
chance to meet and attract women in their tribe. During the
celebration, competitions take place in the form of a beauty
pageant where the women are the judges and the men are the
candidates. The Woodabe men paint their faces yellow or red and
their lips black during their annual dance ceremonies to increase
beauty and appeal. Read more: The African Face Painting Tradition |
eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6696477_african-
face-painting-tradition.html#ixzz1btfDF9xz Slide 13 Slide 14 MASSAI
Slide 15 The Maasai (sometimes misspelled "Masai") are a Nilotic
ethnic group of semi- nomadic people located in Kenya and northern
Tanzania. They are among the best known of African ethnic groups,
due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the
many game parks of East Africa.[2] They speak Maa ( l Maa),[2] a
member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka
and Nuer, and are also educated in the official languages of Kenya
and Tanzania: Swahili and English. The Maasai population has
reported as numbering 840,000 in Kenya in the 2009 census, compared
to 377,000 in 1989 and 400,000 in 2000. THE MASSAI JUMPING
CEREMONY- WARRIORS Slide 16 Body modification (or body alteration)
is the deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical
reasons, such as sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, aesthetic
reasons, denoting affiliation, trust and loyalty, religious
reasons, shock value, and self- expression.[1]. It can range from
the socially acceptable decoration (e.g., pierced ears in many
societies) to the religiously mandated (e.g., circumcision in a
number of cultures), and everywhere in between. Body art is the
modification of any part of the human body for spiritual,
religious, artistic or aesthetic reasons. Slide 17 Scarification
Scarification is a permanent form of body decoration that perfects
the body in much the same way as cosmetic surgery. It involves
puncturing or cutting patterns and motifs into the dermis or upper
levels of skin. When the cuts heal, scars remain. Different tools
produce different types of scars, some subtle, some pronounced. For
example, cutting the skin with a razor and then pulling the skin up
with a fishhook or thorn yeilds large, raised keloids (scars).
Soot, used as a sterile irritant, can be rubbed into the open
wounds to make the scarring even more prominent. Slide 18 Tooth
Alterations Many cultures alter the shape or alignment of the
teeth. Such enhancements include pulling teeth, filing them
horizontally, filing them to sharp points, dyeing them, and
repositioning them. One modification-filing the teeth to a sharp
point-is practiced in several African countries. Whereas both the
lower and upper teeth can be filed, most commonly it is the upper
incisors that are shaped. This procedure is often carried out at
puberty or just prior to marriage. Slide 19 LIP PLATES - In the
Name of Beauty - Southwest Ethiopia Southwest, Ethiopia, women
altered themselves for a husband. {Tribal Alteration is again
becoming the style for some modern people who see it as a spiritual
rite.}
