Throughout the film Black Panther, many examples of body art are displayed. Body art is used as a form of representation and expression in many cultures, including many African tribes. Body art often takes form through the practices of scarification, tattoos, and body painting. The earliest archaeological evidence of scarification and tattooing dates back to 30,000 BCE.(Rush 3) Scarification involves intentionally carving the skin so that it scars and leaves behind an intricate design. Early forms of scarification likely served as identification markers of individual valor or jeopardy. In the film, Killmonger also uses his scars as a form of identification, with each scar representing a kill he has made. Various cultures use body paint to protect their skin, or to decorate as they celebrate or mourn something. They make the paint from natural ingredients like chalk, oil, and clay. In Black Panther, body paint is worn on special occasions, such as the crowning of a new king, and also can identify the tribe that one belongs to. Tattoos are used as “signifiers for tribal affiliation and markings of progress within one’s own society and culture”.(Amplifyafrica.org) In Black Panther, lip tattoos are used to indicate that someone is from Wakanda.
Although these forms of art are common in many African cultures, they often differ in their meanings and uses. The Shilluk in Sudan use scarification to make raised dots on the forehead that indicate tribal heritage.(Blauer 144) Tribes in Chad, Ethiopia, and Nigeria use scars to document important life events, like puberty or childbirth. Body paint is also used to document events like courting or marriage through the use of different colors. Women in Northern Africa paint their hands and feet with henna paint for their weddings. Men aged between seventeen and thirty who belong to the Nuba tribe of southern Sudan wear paint to indicate their age, and use it as a daily form of dress. Recent cultures have been combining tattooing and scarring into the process called cicatrization, where scars are made and ash or soot are used to create pigment.
Works Cited
Blauer, Ettagale. African Elegance. 1999. pp. 144-150
Winters, JD. “A Brief History of African Body Markings” Feb, 8, 2021. https://www.amplifyafrica.org/post/a-brief-history-of-african-body-markings
Rush, John. “Scarification and Tattooing: A Cultural History of Pain”. Spiritual Tattoo. 2005. pp. 3-14