A thousand year old tradition sees the women of Chin tribes tattoo their faces with intricate markings.
Chin State is one of the poorest and most isolated regions in Burma.
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Nearly 75% of its 500,000 population live a life of poverty and are mostly cut off from the more successful Burmese regimes in Rangoon or Naypyidaw.
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There are reports of up to 12 Chin tribes that practice the art of facial tattooing, even after the Burmese government officially forbade it in 1960.
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Local understanding is that Chin State tribes began tattooing the faces of women as a way of disfiguring their beauty.
The intended purpose being to stop rival tribes and other figures from kidnapping them.
Michael Biach / Via michaelbiach.wordpress.com