Photos: Tattooed Faces of the Women of Burma’s Chin

Brent Lewin for National Post

Merle Robillard Jul 15, 2011 – 6:59 AM ET | Last Updated: Jul 14, 2011 10:21 PM ET

Historically the Chin were adored for their beauty and King’s would come to villages to steal men’s wives. As a measure against their women being stolen, village elders started tattooing teenage girls to make them ‘ugly’. The tradition stuck and over generations eventually lost it’s original meaning of ugliness and came to represent courage, beauty and strength. However, as these traditional groups began moving outside their villages, the struggle between tradition and modernity has placed tribal Chin culture under increasing threat of being absorbed by the dominant Burmese. Unique language, customs and dress have been abandoned. Under this pressure to assimilate, the practice of facial tattooing has also been discontinued. Currently there remain only a handful of women adorning facial tattoos.