What is scarification

The idea of socialization or 'humanization' through marking is evident in the philosophy of the Bafia people of Cameroon who say that withour their scarifications, they would be indsitnguishable from pigs or chimpanzees. Elsewhere in Africa, scarification is done for other reasons. The Ekoi Ejagham of southeast Nigeria believe that the scars on their bodies will serve them as money on their way to the place of the dead.

Suri men of Ethopia scar their bodies to show they've killed someone from an enemy tribe, one group for example cutting a horseshoe shape on their right arm to indicate they've killed a man, and on their left for female victim. In contrast, neighbours of the Suri, in Ethiopia's Omo valley, the Mursi, practise scarification for largely aesthetic reasons.

Both men and women create swirling dotted patterns on their bodies that may not necessarily mean anything but which attract the opposite sex and enhance the tactile experience of sexual relations. Pain and blood can play a large part in the scarification process to determine a person's fitness, endurance and bravery.

This is especially the case in puberty rites since a child must prove they are ready to face the realities and responsibilities of adultthood, in particular the propect of injury or death in battle for men and the trauma of childbirth for women.

This transformative element of many scarification processes can be linked to the real physiological experience; the pain sensation and release of endorphins can result in a euphoric sate conducive to spirtual attunement. Confidence, Community, and Joy. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads.

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Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Scarification is a permanent form of body modification that affects the texture of the skin by cutting through layers to purposefully create a scar. The process can include a number of techniques, including cutting, scratching, or burning. The process has deep roots in West African history as a practice of placing incisions on the skin—either through branding or cutting—that create permanent scars to communicate cultural expression.

The idea originated not from a desire to hurt the human body, but as an alternative to tattooing. By opening up the skin, scarification allows skin tissue to develop along the drawn lines. Statistics for scarify Look-up Popularity. Style: MLA. Medical Definition of scarify. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words? Love words? Need even more definitions?

Just between us: it's complicated. We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms. See scarify , -ation. Words nearby scarification Scarfe , scarf joint , scarfpin , scarfskin , Scargill , scarification , scarificator , scarify , scarious , scarlatina , scarlatina hemorrhagica. Words related to scarification laceration , wound , carving , chip , chop , cleavage , cleft , dissection , fissure , furrow , gash , graze , groove , nick , nip , notch , prick , rabbet , rent , rip.