Scarification is a traditional cultural activity,

Scarification is a traditional cultural activity,

Scarification is a traditional cultural activity, widely performed across Africa as alternative to tattooing, as ink doesn’t stand out well on dark skin.

It is the practice of incising the skin with a sharp instrument, (such as a knife, glass, stone, or coconut shell) in such a way as to control the shape of the scar tissue on various parts of the body.

Scarification is a long and painful process, and a permanent modification of the body, transmitting complex messages about identity and social status. Permanent body markings emphasise fixed social, political and religious roles.

Facial scarification in West Africa is used for identification of ethnic groups, families, individuals, but also to express personal beauty.

The practice goes back at least several hundred years among widely scattered tribes. In some tribes, the process of scarification is part of a rite of passage into adulthood at puberty.

The art of scarification is changing in Africa. In many communities, scarification patterns can now be seen only on the elderly.