MUA Emily Monique: Scarification and practice techniques

An insight into scarification

Scarifying involves scratching, etching, burning or cutting designs, pictures or even words into the skin. It is a permanent body modification. In the process of body scarification, scars are formed by cutting or branding the skin by varying methods.Although infection may be a risk with most forms of scarification, this is still a common practice.

There are also aesthetic, religious and social reasons for scarification. For example scarification has been used widely used by many West African tribes to mark milestone stages in both men and women's lives such as puberty and marriage. Scarification is also used to transmit complex messages about identity to emphasize social, political and religious roles.

Scarring the abdomen of women in many tribes is used to denote a willingness to be a mother. Her ability to tolerate the pain of scarring was an indication of her emotional maturity and readiness for childbirth.

" A tattoo is painful and bloody" said Vince Hemingson, a writer and filmmaker who has studies body-modification practices worldwide " In almost all hunting and gathering cultures, shedding of blood summons gods, and good and evil spirits."

Crocodile Men

Tribes in the East Sepik province of Papa New Guinea to this day still practice an ancient initiation ceremony. A way of introducing adolescents into manhood. It is a strenuous and painful process, that leaves the men's skins scarred all over, the effect resembling the crocodile scales. The meaning behind this ceremony has deeply spiritual and symbolic connotations.

Scarification techniques in practical lessons.

After looking at tribes who use scarification, we looked at how to create similar effects in out practical lessons. We used things such as rice, split peas and popcorn to create the bumpy textured looks. We used Liquid latex as an adhesive to stick to the skin. Once it had dried we were then able to paint over the rice etc with supra colours.