Scarification & Cicatrisation (African Art post 8/10)

There are a lot of different stuff in African cultures, and one of the main things is SCARIFICATION, along with their hairstyles and so on.

Scarification is done on the human body, not on other objects like their art in pottery, but as one can notice the patters and shapes/forms are related to each other. This is a cultural activity which a lot of tribes perform this act in Africa, this is done when the artist does cuts on the body with a sharp tool, where as a tool one uses a knife, stone, coconut shell or a stone where this tool is generally used to control the shapes of the scars as they are sometimes different in every body part.

  

                                            Scarification tools

Cicatrisation is a different type of scarification, it is done where a wound is made through the skin with a sharp object and then they’ll apply certain juices from an caustic pland and permanent blisters will form, yet they’ll even perform some kind of tattooing where some of them will rub the wound with gunpowder or charcoal found from the ground and when they’ll heal they’ll be marked forever. The cut marks, will be called KELOIDS once they’’ be healed.

Performing Cicatrisation

This is a painful and a long process, where it’s a permanent mark that’s why its called a modification, yet they’ll still do it as it sends messages or gives identity of the tribe where their meanings are generally about politics, religious or social things. Just like in West Africa, they’ll do them for identity of the groups or family or even individuality yet if not about the ones I mentioned, they’ll do them for expressing beauty. They even perform body scarification on women, where they represent stages of one’s life just like puberty and marriage.

  

Stages of life scarification 

On men, when they make facial scarification, they’ll do them so one will be attractive as one can touch and to look at and women sometime will do them aswell to show their strong resistance to childbirth.

In other countries like Nigeria, woman with scared faces will show their demand to sex, where woman will show that they are willing for a lot of children, this is because they’ll say that one will have more erotic sensations when they’re touched by men as scars will stay sensitive for many years till they’ll heal completely

Yet, one should know that multiple scarifications are for decorations in different social parts. As today this is changing in Africa as a lot of tribes are NOT using scars patterns anymore and can only be seen on the elderly.

      

Facial scarifications

Scarification and Cicatrisation among African cultures - RAND AFRICAN ART. 2013. Scarification and Cicatrisation among African cultures - RAND AFRICAN ART. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.randafricanart.com/Scarification_and_Cicatrisation_among_African_cultures.html