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Body modification rituals that are rooted in culture

Modifying bodies is not a recent fad or fashion to have reached our society. Body art is growing from centuries and is in the society from the beginning of the time. It has always been in our cultures, making our bodies beautiful and unique.

While doing cultural body art, it represents their culture, also the dignity, and the power attached to it. Sometimes it is very hard to digest these body arts, as they do not appear so good and are weird enough to make you squirm in your seat. Some of the cultural body modifications are:

Scarification

Scarification

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Followed by many cultures, this act of modifying bodies is as painful as piercing knife into somebody’s skin. People go through a lot of pain while doing scarification. While doing it a person needs to have a lot patience to bear the pain that comes with it. It starts with cutting the skin deep to give a 3D look to it, and the design depending upon the person. Mostly the design is inspired from a personal event or sometimes it is spiritual. This cultural body modification mostly takes place in South African countries.

Foot binding

Foot binding

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Practice of foot binding was popular in China, as Chinese people considered it a harbinger of luck. The foot of the young girls was bound in tight shoes to stop the growth of their feet. Mostly, it was done to make feet of young girls short and beautiful. Short feet were a symbol of beauty and mostly the high-class people followed it. It was a belief of people that girls with short feet are perfect for learning the dancing skills.

Lip plate

Lip plate is popular in the culture of an African tribe

Image Source :  TheMedicalBag

Lip plate is popular in the culture of an African tribe, where it is a tradition that almost everyone follows. Some people place a wooden plate to fill the lip thereby stretching it, while some others choose a CD to fill it up. With a hole in the lip and stretching it, people like to show the two lower teeth. Being a part of their culture, everyone follows it.

3D horns

3D horns

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Besides making the other body parts big in size, people use 3D implants for making horns at head. Some people are so passionate about getting that vampires look that they go for 3D implants to get horns on their head. The surgery is quite painful and costs a lot, but some people just love to look like a monster and many people follow it in different cultures.

Summary

Modifying bodies are different in all the cultures. As it is a part of culture, people do not stop following it and are continuing with it until today. Body art being a part of our culture, it becomes our duty to maintain its dignity and following it till the end.

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