Posts tagged with protection
Eyebrow painting of North African women
January 27th, 2010
All from Harquus: North African Women’s Traditional Body Art Volume 2: Paint (pdf) by Catherine Cartwright-Jones.
“A person with thick, black eyebrows can see better in very bright light, and will be less likely to squint. Eyebrow paint may have had the same function as sunglasses, while accenting expressive eyebrow movement.”
I think I prefer the explanation from Catherine’s Introduction to Harquus Part 2: Kohl and Surma (pdf):
“Some women believed that blackening their eyelids and eyebrows would protect them from the glance of the Evil Eye, and also prevent them from transmitting the Evil Eye to another person.”
Tribal women of Formosa
October 9th, 2009
According to Masegseg Jingror: “”Tattoo marking is a common practice among the…Atayal. For women, having tattoo marks on one’s face and body means three things: First, it is a symbol of reaching maturity.Second, it indicates that she is a person capable [of] weaving. And finally but not the least, when they pass away they can recognize the spirits of their ancestors in heaven through the design of the tattoo marks.Besides, tattoo marks were believed to have magical power which enabled them to avoid evil forces. But more importantly, tattoos are marks of their identity indicating to which tribe they belong”" (Tung 1996, p.152).
HOME PROTECTION
March 17th, 2009
At my parents’ house.
