SOME BIZARRE CULTURES OF THE WORLD

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The 9 Most Bizarre Cultural Beauty Practices in the World

Cultures have long defined feminine beauty in different ways and women have played a huge role in propagating and abiding by these beauty practices. For them, these ideals are a way of feeling accepted and appreciated in their societies. However, you would be surprised to know the extent to which they can go for this acceptance. Here is a list of nine cultures across the world that have the most bizarre beauty practices, especially for their women.


1. Kayan Tribe, Burma

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Image Source by Thomas Schoch via wiki

In Kayan culture, long, graceful necks are considered as symbols of beauty and elegance. Women belonging to this ancient culture wear multiple brass rings coiled around the neck from a very young age and the number of rings increase as the woman grows older. These women can wear up to 20 pounds of rings when they are adults.


2. Bodi Tribe, Africa

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Image Source via cvltnation

In tribes across Africa, intricate body scars that form multiple designs are a symbol of beauty, for both men and women. Those who take part in this practice undergo excruciating pain to look beautiful with facial scarification and scar patterns all over the body. The ritual includes usage of thorns and a razor for the scars, and organic sap or ash rubbed in to make them heal into the raised designs we see.


3. Mauritanians, Africa

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Image Source by Joost de Raeymaeker via oai13

Women in Mauritania are lauded for gaining weight as super-sized bodies are considered extremely beautiful. Sending young girls to ‘fat camps’, where they are fed up to 15,000 calories a day, is the norm because being bigger in size makes women more desirable as wives.


4. Maori Tribe, new Zealand

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Image Source via beautiful-world-places

The Maori tribe in New Zealand considers women with traditional lip and chin tattoos, known as Ta Moko, as most beautiful. Some of these tribal women also get the Moko done on the forehead, the upper lip, the nostrils, and the throat.


5. Masai Tribe, Africa

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Image Source via news.uaf

The Masai tribe started the practice of ear stretching to alter their appearance and look more beautiful. However, cultures and tribes across the world now practise this art for various reasons, including physical beauty, religion, coming of age ceremonies and even warding off evil. It is a common among women even today in many tribes across Africa, Southeast-Asia and South America (the Amazon Basin).


6. Apatani Tribe, India

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Image Source via worldimage4u

Women of the Apatani tribe living in the Ziro valley, Arunachal Pradesh used to have wooden plugs lodged in the sides of their noses as a rite of passage. However, instead of adding to their beauty, the practice was initiated to make them uglier. Officially abolished in 1970, it was historically started to deter tribal raiders from kidnapping and taking away the beautiful women of the tribe.


7. Ancient Wealthy Community in China

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Image Source via opinionv

The ancient Chinese practice of foot-binding, believed to have started around the 10th century, has long been abolished. However, there was a time when Chinese women underwent this painful practice to remould the bones of their feet into the customary size of three to five inches, by binding them. These ‘lotus feet’ were believed to be the beautiful symbols of status and wealth in society.


8. Modern Women in Iran

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Image Source via vice

Iran is famous as the nose job capital of the world. Women in Iran undergo rhinoplasty surgery with pride, and the post-surgical bandages are worn as a status symbol. Sometimes, women wear them longer than needed or even opt for fake bandages without having the surgery done.


9. Mursi and Surma Tribes, Africa

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Image Source via mitindoplus

Worn in the lower lip, the clay lip plate is the defining image of women across the Mursi and Surma tribes in Africa. As soon as the girls of the community hit puberty, their two lower front teeth are removed and a hole is pierced in the bottom lip that is then stretched out to accommodate the lip plate. The size of the lip plate gradually increases over the years, as they believe that larger the plate and lip, the more beautiful the woman is.

These bizarre beauty practices may seem alarming at first glance, but we need to remember that they represent exquisite traditions and beliefs of ethnicities across the world. Pack your bags and head to these places to explore the unique cultures that call them home

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