Epidermal artists perform ritualistic procedures with the sterility of a surgeon. Many people will discuss ancient cave paintings when talking about some of the first art. I think of the first person that was struck by a red-hot stick, leaving a second-degree burn, and loving it. Piercing, Branding, and Scarification are some of the oldest art forms. The ways that the procedures are performed are rather ritualistic. The procedures have changed with the advances of medical science but the act is still as spiritual and meaningful as days gone by.
Body piercing was and is still performed by many tribal people the world over. Piercing of the ears, nose, genitals and lips are of the most common places on the body to be pierced. In a few of these ancient cultures woman where pierced as a sign of being subservient to there male counterparts, while men where pierced for recognition of being a great leader, warrior or medicine man. As stated in return of the tribal: A celebration of body adornment, "among the Suri of southwest Ethiopia, it is the women who wear large lip-plates. In a process starting six months before marriage, a lip piercing is continuously enlarged, and its final size at marriage determines the bridal price..."(Camphausen). Not all cultures used piercing in a sexist way; in the Kirdi tribes women often wear long inserts in their pierced ear cartilage that are believed to protect them from "evil exhalations" of supernatural forces.
Branding is preformed for three main reasons: as a way of showing tribal identity, marking personal history or as an erotic art. Unlike in today’s society scars are seen as a sign of beauty, small raised bumps in geometric patterns on the face, stomach and arms. "Among the Mursi...scared faces as well as bodies are common in both genders...their scars are meant to attract the opposite sex and act as a tactile enhancement of the skin during sexual play." (Camphusen)
Scarification is preformed for many of the same reasons that branding is. One of the most interesting reasons is "ritualistic scarification". During a scarification ritual, it is it conceived that the person that is being scared is reaching a higher conscious. In learning to endure and absorb pain willingly and consciously, they rise above it and become "reborn" as different beings.
Advances in medical science have change the way that all body modifications are preformed. There are many ways to perform piercing; Standard, Scalpeled and dermal punching are the three ways that piercing is most commonly preformed today. The process to perform a piercing is; first, the area is cleaned with betadine and rubbing alcohol. Next, the piercing is marked so that the piercee can see where the hole is going to be made. Once the piercer and piercee agree on the placement for the piercing, one of the following happens.
In a standard piercing, the needle is inserted through the skin, because piercers use a hollow needle there is no flesh removed. Once the needle is in the body, the piercer inserts the jewelry into the back of the hollow needle; the needle is pushed out at the same time the jewelry is pushed in to the body.
A scalpeled piercing is preformed when piercing a flat surface, when the piercing has a high chance of rejection. Rejection is when the body sees the jewelry as a foreign object, like a sliver, and tries to push it out of your body. The procedure for a scalpeled piercing is the same as above but once marked the pierced uses a scalpel to make a larger hole. The larger hole does not create any stress on the skin of jewelry placed into the hole thus there is a less chance of rejection.
Lastly a dermal punch is used when piercing cartilage, a dermal punch is a medical tool used for doing biopsies, it is a razorblade that is instead of straight, is round so that it take a piece of fresh out. The advantage of using a dermal punch instead of a needle or scalpel is two folds. First the act of piercing cartilage with a needle or scalpel created a "C" shaped or "|" shaped hole in the ear. Once you put a round object in the hole, the body will have a hard time healing because of the pressure that the jewelry will assert on the piercing. Secondly cartilage is hard; it is a cross between skin and bone. When you make a hole in the cartilage there is not that much pain until you try to stretch this hole open so that you can put in the jewelry. By using a dermal punch, you can create much larger holes, taking away the flesh and causing the piercee a lot less pain.
Even though these procedures are a lot different then the way that they are preformed by tribal people they still holed a lot of spiritual and emotional meaning for the piercee. In a submission to Body Modification Electronic Magazine (Larratt, 1998) the author is discussing some of the Psychological Benefits of piercing.
"The psychological benefits of what is in essence, pleasing myself, are innumerable. Always rebellious, I have become even more assertive in the face of public stricture. Once I chose to alter my body in this way, I began a journey of reclamation, Self-awareness and Self-love... Accenting my nipples and vulva with beautiful gold, was the liberating step in the long process back to retrieving my sense of femininity... Putting a barbell through my tongue emphasized my ability to speak...(qtd. Ringchanger@yahoo.com)
Although there are some cultures that still perform branding in "traditional" ways, modern branding is very different from the way that it was preformed hundreds of years ago. Modern tools like steel and hand held torches made the job of the artist much easier allowing for more complicated patterns to be formed. The medical knowledge of treating burns allows the branding to be less severe; relying on the patient to follow aftercare that will result in the desired effect.
The process for branding is relatively simple; first the brander and the patient discuss the desired result, raised scars? White or red scars? There is a variety of options open to the patient. Once decided on the outcome for the procedure the patient and artist discuses the options regarding how the procedure is actually preformed. Does the patient want friends or family to be there during the branding? Would they appreciate music to calm their nerves? Would the smell of incense help mask the smell of there own flesh? After all this is disused, the branding is started. The patient lies on a table, taking off the appropriate article of clothing. The patient is secured to the table to minimize flinching. Next, the brander gets set-up using pieces of sheet metal in the proper shapes so that he can form the desired pattern. The metal is heated red hot, almost to the point of melting. As soon as it can not get any hotter the metal is pressed against the skin. This process is called a strike, the strikes are repeated as many times as necessary. The following is a quote from a personal account of a branding procedure.
"I just got done performing a brand on an epidermal artist friend of mine when he asked if I wanted one now? I hesitated but decided that this was the time for me to be branded. I decided on having a long row of "dots" go up from my elbow, along the back of my arm and stop just short of the tattoo that I have on my back. I decided on the pattern because of the new branding tool that I just got, I love new toys. The new toy is a pinwheel, surgical stainless steel, which is used for testing reflexes. I took off my shirt and laid face first on a massage table. My friend then started to tie me to the massage table with blue rope. My foot at the bottom of the table while my left arm was bound above my head. Me right arm, the one to be branded, was bound at my waist so that he could do the branding as quick as possible. Strapped in I asked for a CD of mine to be put on the radio. Now that "Faith" by Limp Bizket was playing, I was ready. I could hear the hum of the blowtorch, I steadily grew calm. Then I looked up to see the red-hot instrument that was about to burn my flesh. I was asked once more if I was ready, Yep. I braced myself, pulling in both directions on all of the rope that held me to the table. I could not hear the sizzle of my flesh thanks to the music, nor could I smell the burning skin, thanks to adrenaline. It was done, it did not hurt, and I love it to this day". (Qtd. Steven Smith)
Many people still practice this art form for the emotional aspects that it bring to them, (Larratt 1998) ‘"It was like a symbol of our friendship, and I felt so cool around them because it was my idea. The 2 guys were branded on the arm, below the shoulder, and the 2 girls decided to place the brand on the inside of their ankles."’ (Qtd. Anonymous) Others deal with branding on a more spiritual aspect. In an essay titled "My personal decision to be branded and tattooed, as a Jew" the anonymous author calling himself only by first name states his reasons for branding and tattooing.
Throughout history, Jews have been forced to identify themselves via the wearing of certain articles of clothing, or signs on their homes. None of these identifying marks were undertaken voluntarily by Jewish people. During the Holocaust Jews were forced to wear "Star of David" patches on their arms, and those in concentration camps were tattooed with numbers, much like cattle. Therefore, for me to take the Star of David as a Jewish symbol of identity and mark myself permanently with it makes me feel more Jewish than I ever felt before. (Larratt 1998)
Scarification or cutting is just as simple as its name implies. When all the decisions on the shape, size, and placement of the procedure are made the cut is ready to be made. The patient lies in a comfortable position; the artist cleaned the area with betadine and rubbing alcohol. Next, the artist cuts into the skin, 1/8 of an inch. After completing the design, the skin is sometimes rubbed with sterilized ash or clay to help promote raised scars.
The emotional and spiritual aspects that accompany this ritualistic procedure are great and diverse. Some desire to be cut as a since for dealing with the pain that the world around them inflects upon them. Pain that they can not control so the decide to take the pain into there own hands. Others see scarification a lot like the ways of tribal peoples; Using the scars to enhance the sensitivity of the human skin or as a way of making you more attractive to the opposite sex. In a personal account describing scarification, an on looker describes what they saw. (Larratt 1998) "’As he first touched the knife to Don's chest, Don's eyes stayed wide open, looking straightforward. He did not flinch, he almost seemed to relax a bit as the cutting began...During the few moments when Keith would step away to look at the cutting or to take towels from the table, Don glanced at the audience and quickly smiled, or looked down at the blood flowing from his chest...someone in the audience later asked Don what it was like, what was going through his mind then, he said that one of his impulses had been to scoop up some of the blood and taste it." (Qtd. A. Wolfe)
The many facets of body modification have changed throughout the years; the procedures are different as well as the rituals and beliefs that surround the acts of Piercing, Branding, Scarification and Implantation. With body modification going main stream a lot is lost to girls getting their navels pierced. The media is no help in keeping these ancient art forms a live. When the thought of someone doing something purely for there own personal reasons arises the American society in whole smashes it down.
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