During the time I was locked out of my flat a couple weeks ago, I had the chance to look through some pretty amazing National Geographic books at my friends house. One was divided into continent and the other a series of portraits and through these I discovered several tribes and traditions that I wasn't aware of/didn't know much about, so I did a little further research.
Mangbetu
From the Congo, the Mangbetu are known for their practice of head binding where infants had their heads wrapped in layers of braided string or cloth, not so dissimilar to Chinese foot binding. The results were elongated skulls that acted as both a testament to the standards of beauty and an indicator of power but this continues with 'The head among the Mangbetu (and other peoples) is the apex, the place of intellect, thought and even the soul. Therefore its elaboration, its adornment, emphasizes its importance.' Source. As can be seen on this blog, a comparison has been made between Mangebtu cranial manipulation and the Christian Dior Spring 2009 hairstyles, I've posted photos from each below.
Ainu
The Ainu are an ethnic group that derive from Hokkaido in Japan who have historically been restricted under reforms during the Meji period/Edo period etc, however their tradition of the female moustache like tattoo remained until 1998 when the last woman with the full traditional tattoo died. According to mythological accounts, tattoo was brought to earth by the “ancestral mother” and was a neccessary step regarding both marriage and the afterlife, with the pain of the custom acting as preparation for childbirth. On a more spirtitual level, “the wives of the deities were tattooed in a similar fashion as the Ainu women, so that when evil demons would see it, they would mistake the women for deities and therefore stay away”.
