Tribal Body Jewelry

Tribal Body Jewelry > Body Jewelry FAQ > Tribal Body Jewelry – A Brief History
by All Piercings Staff Writer

Tribal body jewelry is one of the newest and most fascinating forms of body jewelry to hit the market. If you are looking for something exotic and intriguing, then you should definitely try tribal body jewelry. If you haven’t tried tribal body jewelry before, then you sure are in for a real treat!

Tracing the beginnings of tribal body jewelry

Body Art in the form of body jewelry has been around for a long time. Ornamental uses of body piercings have existed in various civilizations and cultures, both ancient and modern. Right from tribal folk to Royal nobility, all have indulged themselves with some or the other form of body jewelry. Body jewelry was used for many reasons such as religious, decorative, and in some cultures and tribes to denote valor, virility, and even royalty.

Origins of body piercings and tribal body jewelry

· Ear Piercing: This is one of the earliest forms of piercing and of tribal body jewelry. The Tlingit tribe of southeast Alaska considered ear piecing in direct relation to a person’s status in society. In order to get a child’s ears pierced, his parents had to hold a community ceremony. The entire tribe was invited to the ceremony and a huge feast was planned. This ear piercing ceremony ended up costing a lot of money. The more the piercings one had, the more wealth he had. Since social standing was determined by a person’s wealth, one could determine a person’s rank by the number of ear piercings that he or his offspring had.

· Lip Piercing: Among the Eskimo of Alaska, both men and women wore lip plugs called Labrets. The men wore either one labret or two. Young men got a lip plug as some type of initiation. Holes were made in their lips when they reached puberty, thus a labret was a sign of achieving manhood. The women generally wore a labret just for decoration, but a high-born Eskimo girl wore a lip plug as a sign of her noble status. Tribal body jewelry for lips is available in many different designs inspired by these stories.

· Nose Piercing: This was very common among ancient Indian and Mexican tribes. A nose ring can be worn on either side of the nose as well as in the center. This form of tribal body jewelry was generally worn by tribal Indian girls on their wedding day for the first time. Thus a nose ring usually symbolized a married woman.

· Navel piercing: Tribal body jewelry in the form of belly rings was very popular among ancient African, Egyptian, and Indian tribes.

Tribal body jewelry: From ancient to modern

All these trends and customs have managed to find their way from the past to the present. Tribal body jewelry depicted various things in the past but is now popular because of its fascinating history. Tribal body jewelry is now available in designs ranging from erotic to exotic to absolutely wild. Designs for tribal body jewelry include claws, tusks, snake designs, dragons and a lot more. Tribal body jewelry is available in styles such as Native American, Egyptian, Eskimo, Aztec, Maori, and African just to name a few.

Disclaimer: The materials on the AllPiercings.com web site are presented for informational purposes only, and are not intended as a substitute for professional dental / medical advice, and accordingly you should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider.