In Ethiopia's Omo Valley, resident tribes break your skin in ways that cannot be undone. Cicatrization (or human body scarification) is a training that is old-fashioned so when a young woman's breast is pierced having an acacia thorn, it is done deliberately and in elaborate patterns. These wounds become permanent, hardening over time into scars that are thought not to decrease her attractiveness but to improve it.
Comparable beautification techniques are also applied to lips and ears. Through the Zigroo, or piercing ceremony, two lower teeth are eliminated and an incision is made in the lip that is base. The piercing is just the beginning, however. A plate that is small then placed in to the hole, to be removed over time and replaced with a larger one, then a larger one. And so the process continues.
There is discomfort involved these practices. The results, however, are considered necessary indications of status and individuality. In this ancient, sun-baked area of eastern Africa, cutting into the body you were born with is not always seen as damaging it. It's an improvement.
OMO VALLEY, ETHIOPIA
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