Facial tattoo
Among the headhunting Konyak, young boys were ceremonially tattooed on reaching adult age as a sign of manhood. Before the annual ritual was performed, it was necessary for the group of young men to capture at least one head from an enemy's village. Magical power was attached to the head and it was believed to increase the fertility of the crops and the men who took it. Like the Wancho, the tattooing was usually performed by the principal wife of the chief or ang of the village, a woman of pure blood of the aristocratic clan. To prick the pattern on the face of one man took an entire day. Those who could withstand the pain also had the neck and chest tattooed
© Kieron Nelson 2003 "Vanishing Cultures Photography" All rights reserved
