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While it's difficult to pinpoint who first came up with the idea of ear stretching, or why they did it, many cultures today still maintain the practice for various reasons.
Sometimes it's for religious reasons, rituals of ceremonies, warding off evil spirits, or increasing sex hormones; in some places, it's even considered a traditional beauty trait for women, the longer the ears, the more beautiful they are.
Today, ear-lengthening is still a very common practice among the Masai tribes in Kenya, or the Huarani people in the Amazon basin.
This is a picture of the Apatani tribe living in the Ziro Valley in northeastern India. The women here are considered the most beautiful among the Arunachal tribes.
In fact, they accepted making themselves look strange and unattractive to protect themselves in case other tribes invaded. Therefore, most Apanti women insert large wooden tubes into their nostrils and consider this a tradition that is hard to break.
Most Dinka boys and girls are forbidden from crying when the witch doctor cuts their dark, tanned faces with a knife, drawing warm, red blood. If they cry or react to the pain, they will be disgraced in the community.
Therefore, no matter how painful it is, they must sit still as if nothing is happening. For the people here, this facial scarification is considered a cultural identity, and also a way to enhance the beauty of women.
In addition, the men of the Dinka tribe all have scars on their faces with three parallel lines. This is considered a symbol of bravery.
Upon reaching adulthood, boys would have "scars" etched onto their faces to mark their transition into adulthood, simultaneously taking on the responsibility of becoming strong men within their families and tribes.
For the local people of Thailand, this kind of facial distortion is perfectly normal. They are not afraid of the pain because this ritual is a mandatory part of the coming-of-age ceremony.
This ceremony takes place annually and publicly, as a way of declaring to the world that they have become adults.
This festival is held on Phuket Island in southern Thailand every October and takes place every morning for 10 consecutive days. Some people will pierce their cheeks or mouths with sharp objects as a sign of devotion to themselves and their community. There are also activities such as walking barefoot on hot coals.
After the festival ends, the wounds left by the pain will heal. However, the scars on their faces will continue to accumulate year after year.
People living in Bali often have a custom of filing down their front teeth. For them, teeth represent anger, jealousy, and other similar negative emotions. Their teeth are sharpened, and this is considered a ritual marking their transition into adolescence.
In Mayan culture, teeth were not only sharpened, but also had unique designs carved into them, which they considered a way to distinguish between upper, middle, and lower classes.
Or, as in the Wapare tribe in Africa, they will file their teeth to mimic the shape of a shark's jaw, or have some lower teeth extracted when they reach puberty, considering it a custom and a tradition passed down from their ancestors.
Among the Sepik River tribes in Papua New Guinea, the practice of scarifying the body with patterns resembling tree bark is considered part of a ritualistic ceremony for men.
The tribal elders would use knives to carve pieces of skin from the young men's bodies, shaping them to resemble the rough skin of a crocodile. The people believed that the crocodile would merge with their bodies and help them become truly strong men afterward.
In Africa, lip plate making, also known as lip lengthening, is a very common practice. To do this, two or four lower front teeth are removed, and then a large, round disc, made of clay or wood, is inserted through the upper or lower lip to lengthen it.
For this tribe, the size and length of the lips are important indicators of their socioeconomic status.
Kayan women in northern Thailand are known for the intricate copper coils they wear around their necks. This is one of the most common ways to lengthen their necks. They may wear up to 25 extremely heavy copper coils, and some women never take them off in their entire lives.
Girls are given their first copper wires at the age of five, and each year the length of the wires is gradually increased to lengthen their necks as much as possible until adulthood.
HB (According to Oddee)
