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Body scarification or body modification was an integral part of African culture and allowed one to distinguish one person from another in ancient Africa. It is still part of many African cultures of modern times. For the ancient Africans, the names were not enough identification. For them, body scarification played a greater role in helping to identify where a person came from and what household, ethnic subgroup or particular ethnic group he belonged to.
The term body scarification is a Western ideology used to describe the intentional marking of humans through burns, etchings, etchings or marks of symbols or words in the skin. For the ancient African, it was not known as body scarification and certainly wore no negativity. Because of the negative connotation that accompanies the term of body scarification, especially when discussing the parameters of Africa, many scholars have opted for the term body modification, which has a less negative or primitive effect.
The Baka of Cameroon
One of the most intriguing body modification practices was the tooth-sharpening ritual that prevailed in parts of Africa, particularly in Central Africa, eastern and southern Africa in the early eighteenth century. century. Although they have also modified the body with tribal marks, which is more popular in West Africa, for many ethnic groups in Central and Southern Africa, tattooing and sharpening teeth were more common, the latter being the most popular.
The ritual of sharpening teeth is the most popular among the Makondes of southeastern Tanzania and northern Mozambique, the majority of ethnic groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the Bopoto and Zappo Zap. Some tribes of the Central African Republic, Bemba of Zambia and even Yao of Malawi and parts of Zambia have also practiced the ritual of sharpening teeth.
The sharpening of the teeth was done for various reasons among these tribes. For some, the ritual was meant to introduce young boys and girls who had reached puberty in adulthood. For these people, this was done during the rites of passage to adulthood mainly because at that age, they would be able to bear the pain of showing that they were really ready for it. 39, adulthood and that it mainly concerned the tribes of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Gabon.
For other tribes, the ritual of sharpening teeth was an integral part of their custom and anyone belonging to such a tribe was supposed to have sharpened teeth at the expected age. In parts of Sudan, where there were indigenous tribes, the sharpening ritual of the teeth also served to provide spiritual protection, especially when seeking spiritual strength or being chosen as a spiritual leader.
Ota Benga, Congolese pygmy exposed in zoos in the United States
Men tend to look like animals like the crocodile as a sign of masculinity. This is a common belief among Paré in Tanzania. Among the members of the Upoto tribe in central Congo, the ritual of sharpening teeth was done according to sex. Men only produced one tooth while women deposited more than one, especially before marriage. One of the most popular Congolese to have tapered teeth in ancient Africa is Ota Benga, who was taken from his home and exhibited in zoos in the United States.
Several other tribes, like the Makondes, performed the ritual of sharpening their teeth to make their people more beautiful. Among these people, more women had sharp teeth and were a symbol of beauty.
An Ethiopian with sharp teeth
The ritual for sharpening teeth was not practiced by anyone, it took a lot of skill and patience to avoid hurting someone during the ritual. The sharpening was done by selected men or women, who are thought to have been born with the skills the gods gave them, and they were able to train selected people to help them.
With the introduction of education and westernization, the ritual of sharpening teeth has been extinguished during the twentieth century, but is still practiced among small indigenous groups some parts of Central Africa who refuse any contact with modern society.
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