Be Amazed By Incredible Indigenous Body Paint

Two questions.

How would you feel if body painting were the main way to identify who you are and what you do?

What if your fate was dependent on the painted designs spread across your skin?

If that sounds far fetched, you only need to research the experiences of the indigenous societies who have lived in the forests, hills, deserts and farmlands worldwide for tens of thousands of years, and still exist today.

Amid our urbanized Western culture, you can be excused somewhat for perceiving nude fine body art and painting as solely a recreational and aesthetically pleasing pursuit reveling in clever artistic ideas.

Dig deep among the estimated 370 to 500 million indigenous people living in 90 countries - from Navajos in the United States to the Zhuang people in southern China - and you’ll see the advanced role of bodypainting and nude fine body art plays in their daily lives. Each tribe is different and has their own taxonomy of body art. Some use it in warfare, to identify status in the tribes, for rites of passage, and even as symbology for weddings or pregnancies.

As a spiritual and functional tool, the application of body art helps uphold power, order and protection for those communities. Body paint is significant during warfare, rituals and nurturing of young boys and girls.

The rich body art cultures of indigenous people remind us of their important contribution to the world, at a time when globalization and modernization threatens their survival. According to the United Nations, indigenous peoples are facing greater violations of their rights than was the case 10 years ago. In fact, indigenous peoples are 5% of the world's population but account for 15% of the world's extreme poor.

Indigenuous art, therefore, is much more than just art. Here are the meanings behind amazing body paint in five native communities.

1. Indigenous Americans

Having arrived in the United States more than 15,000 years ago via the Beringia, there are more than 570 native American tribes, recognized by the American federal government, that exist today. The Navajo and Cherokee tribes are the most well-known and populous, with more than 286,000 and 284,000 fill-blooded members, respectively.

Before the European colonization and exploitation of the Americas in the late 15th century, indigenous populations were estimated to total as much as 18 million people. Although the native descendants have largely become immersed in modern technological America, the body painting styles distinctive to each tribe remain a proud part of the culture.

Cherokee Indian - Photography by Marianna Armata

WAR PAINT

Body painting on the face and nude male body was a key part of the psychological preparation for war for many Indigenous American societies.

Frequently, charcoal, cherries, leaves and ocher, a red clay, were used to paint the special shapes, dots and figures that formed their tribe’s distinctive body art style.

These designs decorated warriors and chiefs (often male) before battle to ensure they looked as ferocious as possible and evoke spiritual protection. The Cherokees and some other Native American groups painted soldier’s faces red, as the color was associated with violence. Reportedly some tribes recognized black as the color of the ‘living’ and fighters wore it on their face in preparation for war.

After battle, successful warriors were painted with symbols to reflect his battleground achievements. This idea is not to dissimilar from that experienced by today’s soldiers, who receive badges and medals to celebrate their acts of bravery during war.

Native American – Photography by Francis Vachon

2. Bororo (also known as the Wodaabes people)

Predominately located in Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon, the Bororo community are a nomadic tribe of successful cattle-herders and traders. Descendants from the Fulani ethnic group, the Bororo people are estimated to total more than 100,000 individuals. Their most distinctive feature? A litany of elaborate body-paint-filled cultural ceremonies.

Photography by Timothy Allen and HumanPlanet.com

BODY PAINT FOR BEAUTY CONTESTS

Through the hundreds of beauty pageants, and of course the Miss World competitions, we’re accustomed to seeing glamorous young women under the microscope from male judges. The Bororo indigenous community turns this concept upside down and onto its head. The native West African tribe believe they have the best-looking people the world has to offer, especially their men.

To prove it, they host yearly beauty contests, where men are judged by women on who is the most beautiful. Achieving this feat earns the winner great celebrity and respect among the men and women among the Wodaabe people. The event is also a favorable place for women to choose their mates to marry, even those who already have husbands, according to anthropologists.

The annual Gerewol male beauty contest sees its contestants paint their faces in vivid colors and contort their faces into their most attractive pose. Using yellow, orange and other bright paint colors, the men use the paint to contour a slender nose, thin lips, smooth skin and large eyes. These are the most ideal beauty characteristics in the culture. The other features deemed most attractive for men are tall in height, long straight braided hair, white teeth, and a high forehead.

According to anthropologist Mette Bovin, and author of Nomads Who Cultivate Beauty, the Bororo’s facial art drawings use yellow clay to represent magic and transformation, as well as black on their lips and eyes to contrast the loss and death connotations associated with white.

3. The Nuba people

Residing in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan state in Sudan, the Nuba people live and work as vastly experienced agriculturists. Nuba is a generic umbrella term comprising reportedly up to 100 different tribes in the area, who speak different languages. Estimated to have around one million people in their indigenous community, the Nuba people are experts in cultivating crops such as millet, sesame, nuts and corn, as well as rearing cattle, goats and sheep.

Aside from their farming prowess, the Nuba people pride themselves on athletic excellence through wrestling and spear fighting. Regularly, different Nuba tribes compete head-to-head to prove they have the best fighters.

Nuba Man – Photography by Leni Riefenstahl

BODY PAINT FOR AGE, GENDER & STATUS

Both in work and play, the Nuba tribes paint themselves with colors and designs that follow strict social orders. Clay, minerals and plants from their surroundings were commonly used to create the paint.

From the age of eight, boys are painted red and white, but are unable to use black color until they have been fully initiated into their respective tribes. Between puberty and their first pregnancy, young women are dressed in red clay and oil.

A Nuba Tribe Man – Photography by Leni Riefenstahl

4. The Kayapó

An active force south of the Amazon River, the Kayapo people are one of the hundreds of indigenous groups present in Brazil’s forests.

With a small population of approximately 7,000 people, the Kayapo are renowned internationally for their public pleas to protect the Amazon rainforest.

In recent years, they have also used body paint to raise awareness of the attacks on indigenous people, opening their culture up to the eyes of the Western media to their plight.

Raoni Txucarramãe, chief of the Kayapó people - Photography by Reuters and Ueslei Marcelino

BODY PAINT TO HONOR ANCESTORS

Traditionally, the Kayapo use body paint vividly to commemorate their ancestors and spiritual beliefs.

The indigenous Brazilian tribe believes in animism, and shows great respect for insects such as bees, spiders, beetles and lady birds. They believe their ancestors learned how to adapt, live and work in their forest environment from these insects.

Therefore, as a form of ceremonial traditional dress, body paint, beads and feathers are combined to make Kayapo men and women look like insects. By imitating them, they believe they could communicate with the spirits. Black body paint is also important to the group. The Kayapo believe it allows them to blend into their surroundings like beetles and spiders, and gives them an advantage when hunting in the forests.

Photography by Oz Arie and HelpKayapo.org

5. Papuans – Papua New Guinea

Located in the Oceania region, Papua New Guinea is a culturally rich and diverse country with more than 800 different tribes present among its inhabitants, many of which have their own languages and practices. Papuans take great pride in their ancestral history. In each village, local tribes celebrate their indigenous cultural roots through art, dance, music and clothing. Photographer Olga Fontanellaz traveled to Papua New Guinea and showed through numerous photos the prominent role tribal body painting and body art have on their way of life.

Young woman’s face is painted in preparation for a ceremony - Photography by Michael O'Hanlon in Papua New Guinea in 1979.

BODY PAINT FOR FESTIVALS

In the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, bodypainting the face and torso are a key part of participating in tribal festivals which reinforce their group’s identity and purpose.

Known as the ‘Sing-sing’, the most famous is the Mt Hagen Festival which attracts hundreds of different tribes once a year. Sing-sings reflect the color, spirit and vibrancy of each tribe, as allow each group to share their traditions in a peaceful way.

Alongside other forms of bodily decoration such as ear and nose rings, and wigs, the application of body paint allows participants to immediately signify to others who they are and where they are from. Each person is painted in unique full body designs made from local dyes, and stunning headdresses filled with feathers, pearls and shells. While each group has different tastes, commonly, red, yellow and white remain favorite colors with which to paint the face and body in Papua New Guinea.

Women's sing-sing group from Western Highlands province at the Mt Hagen Festival. - Photography by Olga Fontanellaz

6. Indigenous Indian Tribes

For thousands of years, India has been a melting pot of multiculturalism – from the remote villages in the Indian Himlayan region to the dunes of Rajasthan. With more than 500 recognized tribes, indigenous groups are estimated to comprise around 9% of the South Asian country’s population.

Photography by Christophe Boisvieux and Corbis.

HENNA FOR WEDDINGS

Although not an exclusive practice to just India, the art of henna – also known as mehndi or mehendi – is a traditional activity used by predominantly women’s bodies celebrate special occasions, such as tribal ceremonies and weddings. Traditionally, the henna plants’ leaves were crushed, dried and cooled to create the ink to stain the skin with the beautiful designs.

Known as Mehndi Night, henna body art plays a pivotal role in wedding preparations. Sometime before the wedding day, the bride’s family, relatives and close friends gather to enjoy a night of fun and dancing, as well as henna. The bride is treated to her hands and feet decorated in elaborate henna designs by loved ones.

CONCLUSION

More than just a pretty decoration, each stroke of body paint tells a story that marks an indigenous person’s life and struggles. From the joy of marriage to the brutality of war. These are just 5 great examples, but there are certainly hundreds more from each corner of the global.

Experience for yourself the pride and upliftment of wearing the signature body art from the world’s most incredible tribes. Book an exclusive one-on-one body painting session with Trina Merry.