Cultures around the world still honor ancient traditional practices of body modification, or the intentional and often irreversible alteration of the skin. For many practitioners, body modifications ...

Having an evening walk with my nine year old niece last week, a look of shock appeared on her face seeing a middle-aged man probably a Masai with face full of scars. “Uncle, what happened to that man?

Joana Choumali's series "Hââbré, The Last Generation" traces the final remnants of a dying tradition. The Kô language word means "writing," but also stands for the practice of scarification that's ...

Even though she isn't immediately whisked to her husband's house, she begins to get ready by adorning her body with different scars or drawings. Her body usually has drawings of cows, animals, ...

Fascinating portrait images show the striking beauty of Ethiopia's Suri tribespeople whose bodies are cut with thorns and razors to create distinctive scar markings. An elderly woman is seen sporting ...

“WRITING” on the skin using stones, glass or knives – scarification – is a traditional, permanent body decoration that is “like wearing your identity card on your face”. In Papua New Guinea, for ...

Girls as young as 12 are being sliced with razor blades as part of a traditional scarification ceremony in Ethiopia. The youngster remained silent during the 10 minute ordeal, which saw her mother use ...

The Mursi tribe, isolated in Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia near the border of Sudan are well-known for their trademark lip stretching beautification. Know indigenously as dhebi a tugoin, there are ...

When Holly Mosienko decided to cover up an unsightly scar on her leg, she strayed away from typical solutions, like plastic surgery or makeup. Instead, she opted for more scarring – this time, in the ...

In December, I journeyed to southwest Ethiopia to photograph the rarely seen Surma tribe. For eight days, thanks to Oryx Worldwide Photographic Expeditions, I was granted unprecedented access to this ...