Face tattoos and markings
Tā moko, the facial tattoos of the Apatani and Chin, and ritual scarification, by tradition. 23 face guides on EveryFaceShape so far.
Face tattoos and markings are permanent: designs tattooed, carved, stitched or scarred into the skin. Among them are the tā moko of the Māori, the kakiniit of Inuit women, the chin and lip tattoos of Ainu women, the facial tattoos of Apatani women in Arunachal Pradesh and of Chin women in Myanmar, and the facial marks of the Yoruba. EveryFaceShape describes each by tradition, as the communities themselves explain it.
Marks of belonging
Most traditional face markings record identity: genealogy and tribe in tā moko, coming of age in kakiniit, lineage and home town in Yoruba ila, readiness for marriage in Ainu lip tattoos. Methods differ: moko was carved with bone chisels, kakiniit stitched with sooty thread, Apatani tippei pricked with thorns, and Yoruba marks cut with blades by specialists.
Suppression and revival
Many traditions were banned or discouraged by governments and missionaries: Ainu tattooing by Japan in 1871, Chin tattooing in the mid-twentieth century, Apatani marks in the early 1970s. Some are now gone except among elders. Others have revived strongly: tā moko since the 1970s and 1980s, and kakiniit since the 2000s, led by the communities themselves.
Famous marking face guides
Tā mokoMāori face and body marking
Face tattooFacial tattooing worldwide
KakiniitInuit women's tattoos
Yoruba tribal marksFacial marks of lineage and town
ScarificationPatterns made by scarringIndigenous Tattoos of the Indian SubcontinentIncluding Apatani and Konyak marks
Tattooing in MyanmarIncluding the face tattoos of Chin womenFurther reading
🇲🇲 MyanmarTattooing in Myanmar
Traditional body art of Myanmar's ethnic groups, marking strength and identity.Marking
WorldFace tattoo
Ink designs on the face or head from traditional customsMarking
🇳🇿 New ZealandTā moko
Traditional permanent facial and body markings of the Māori people of New Zealand.Marking
🇳🇬 Nigeria and 2 moreYoruba tribal marks
Scarification patterns used by the Yoruba people for identity and beauty.Marking
🇨🇦 CanadaKakiniit
Traditional facial and body tattoos of Inuit women in the North American Arctic.Marking
🇩🇿 Algeria and 4 moreAfrican scarification
Traditional skin marking practices across Africa for identity and status.Marking
🇳🇬 NigeriaIchi
Ritual facial scarification of the Igbo people marking nobility.Marking
🇺🇸 United StatesTavlugun
A traditional chin tattoo worn by Indigenous Iñupiaq women.Marking
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreYidiiltoo
Traditional face tattoos of Hän Gwich’in women from Alaska and Canada.Marking
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreDeq
Traditional permanent tattooing among Kurds and YazidisMarking
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreGodna
Traditional tribal face and body tattooing from IndiaMarking
WorldScarification
Permanent skin markings created by cutting or burning for cultural identity.Marking
WorldUrna
A spiral mark on the forehead in Buddhist art.Adornment
🇮🇳 IndiaIndigenous Tattoos of the Indian Subcontinent
Traditional body marking for identity and protection in South Asia.Marking
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 morePayot
Sidelocks worn by Orthodox Jewish men as a religious observance.Beard
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tattooing in Myanmar: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Tā moko: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Yoruba tribal marks: User:FA2010, Public domain, source
- Kakiniit: Henry Busse, Public domain, source
- African scarification: Kathy Gerber (kathleen.gerber), CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Yidiiltoo: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Deq: Dûrzan cîrano, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Godna: Shivangi Lokras, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scarification: John Atherton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Urna: Iudexvivorum, CC0, source
- Payot: Mark Neyman, CC BY-SA 3.0, source