Thursday, July 26, 2012

Traditional Facial Tattoos in Burma

The Chin people of Burma were historically adored for their beauty, so much so that King’s would come to villages to steal wives. As a measure against their women being stolen, village elders started tattooing teenage girls to make them ‘ugly’. The tradition stuck and over generations eventually lost it’s original meaning of ugliness and came to represent courage, beauty and strength. However, as these traditional groups began moving outside their villages, the struggle between tradition and modernity has placed tribal Chin culture under the increasing threat of being absorbed by the dominant Burmese. Unique language, customs and dress have been abandoned. Under this pressure to assimilate, the practice of facial tattooing has also been discontinued. Currently there remain only a handful of women adorning facial tattoos.

By itamonkey on Flickr
Photo credit: Min Htike Aung
By AsianInsights on Flickr
Photo by Retlaw Snellac on Flickr
Photo by David_Lazar on Flickr
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Photo by sensaos on Flickr
Analogue Photography
Photo by Andrzej Olszewski on Flickr
By 4n Traveler on Flickr
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Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin
Photo credit: Brent Lewin

Info from here

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