/ 2011 / Portraiture / Other_P

Chin Women of Burma

Women in Burma's Chin State have traditionally received facial tattoos. Historically the Chin women have been known for their beauty. The practice of facial tattooing in the Chin culture goes back hundreds of years and was originally practiced to make their teenage women 'ugly' so that kings would not come and steal their women. Nowadays facial tattooing is no longer practiced though there are a small group of older women remaining living in a handful of Chin villages.