Scarification- image from National Geographic news.
An image of Scarification on the body- This image is from Africa Adorned by Angela Fisher
Scarification is cutting into the skin and creating patterns, it is seen as a ' permanent body modification.' West African women going through stages of there lives where they have to have the scarification done. For example they women get it done when they hit puberty or marriage. All patterns mean different things this can vary from, religion, social or politics'. If a women gets scarification done on her stomach it is donate willingness to her child. It is said that people are not allowed to show emotion when getting the scarification done. They are given a leaf to chew on while they are having it done to take the pain away. To stop the wound from getting an infection they have to wash the wounds properly in ice cold water. They sometimes put chemical on top such as citrus juice or even toothpaste. Sometime the scars don't come out properly so they have to go back and have the scars touched up. It is known that some people have died whilst getting the scarification done, however the main cause for this would be from infection and not cleaning the wounds properly.
Angela Fisher, 30th September 1984 Africa Adorned, Harry n. Abrams, INC
Here is a video that I found on youtube, it shows the process of how the scarification happens. It goes into detail of where the child has to be placed to have the scarification done in this video they say that the child has to be placed under a tree and the child has to be laying down on some fresh weed. When the scars are done on the face its to show the start of childhood it is believed that if the child has the scars done that they will be protected from harm. When there are scars on the stomach it signifies adult hood.
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