African Body Art Essay

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African body art uses the human body as a way to express an individual's status, spiritual beliefs, or ethnic association. It can be created on the body itself in the form of tattoos, scarification, body painting, or hairstyles. Body art can also be created for wear on the body in the form of garments or jewelry. African body art changes the wearer into an object shaped by color, movement, textures, patterns and designs. Sometimes body art can have protective symbolism, created to help a person during dangerous life changes such as movement from childhood to adulthood.

Body adornment is an art and involves the decoration of the body through various techniques which vary with different communities. Africa body adornment is common and has been successfully integrated into the community culture and traditions. The various types of …show more content…
This is because there is symbolism associated with each type of body adornment. The type of adornment or body decoration is usually linked with a certain event or an individual’s stage in life. Occasions where adornment would be seen may include marriage, circumcision, burial or thanksgiving ceremonies. The Maasai community in Kenya is a good example of a community that uses various types of body adornments. For example during the circumcision ceremony, young Maasai boys dress in traditional white and black paint to symbolize the coming of age. When they pass this ritual the young men apply red ochre on the hair to symbolize their maturity and conversion from boys to young warriors.

Scarification and piercing is used to symbolize bravery in men and body beautification for women. Women in the Mursi community of Ethiopia wore five inch clay plates in the lower lips usually in the presence of men. Masks and other form of headdresses were used during ceremonies such as dances or during negotiation of traditional cases mainly to protect or hide the faces of those who passed

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