Fulani Tribeswomen Photos

A young Fulani girl, with fresh cow track and hair pick markings on her cheeks
(Photo from theclassproject.tumblr.com)

A Fulani woman displaying traditional 'X' and cow track tattoos, among others
(Photo from www.accessgambia.com)

A Fulani woman paints white dots on her face for a traditional festival
(Photo from androfeminine.tumblr.com)

Tribe: Fulani

So far I have researched a few tribes from a variety of different areas, that all base the way they look on a specific need - the need to be fearsome, the need to deter the opposite sex, and the need to represent and commemorate the dead. However I haven't yet found a tribe that practice tribal markings purely for beauty purposes. I decided to look for a tribe who practised markings, paintings and tattooing predominantly on their female members, and for reasons based on beauty and sexuality. 

I came across the Fulani tribe, who are an ethnic group of people, predominantly based in West Africa, but who have spread as far as Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa. It is unclear to historians as to where the Fulani people originated from, but they are thought to be most likely of North African or Arabic origin, due to their long, straight noses, straight hair and lighter skin tone. The Fulani are nomadic, pastoral tradespeople, who keep themselves separate from the local agricultural farmers from the areas surrounding them. 

Fulani people are recognisable by their brightly coloured flowing robes, which are often layered, and modestly embroidered and decorated. Due to their Islamic beliefs, headdresses are usually worn by women, although long dark hair can often be seen flowing from underneath, adorned with braids, beads and jewellery. The most unique thing about the Fula, especially the women of the tribe, is the tribal markings on their face. When a young Fulani woman comes of age and becomes eligible for marriage, she will partake in a single sitting, where a tattooist will prick her face hundreds of times with a sharp razor-like tool. As they begin to bleed, heavy ink is mixed into the wounds, which stain the skin as it heals. These dots, along with highlighting the woman's beauty, are said to provide heightened spiritual ability and prowess. At the beginning of their marriages, some tribeswomen also choose to have eyes tattooed on their temples, so that they can watch their husbands even when they are not physically with them; Hair picks are tattooed onto the cheeks to represent beauty, and an 'X' is marked between the eyes to symbolise the bond between husband and wife. Lastly, cow tracks are marked across the cheeks to symbolise prosperity, and the migrant ways of the Fulani people. 

What I like most about the markings of the Fulani women is that they are simple and graphic, but still manage to be decorative. The tribespeople do not rely on busy, heavy, or overly decorative designs to highlight their beauty, and I think that their simple markings are much more effective in achieving that. Unlike many traditions of tribal marking or tattooing that have died out over time, the Fulani people still practice theirs to this day, which is one particular reason why they interest me. Similarly interesting, is the fact that the Fulani are one of the only African tribes that put a huge emphasis on beauty. This makes them especially inspiring to me for this module. (Photos to follow!)

Native American Image

This is the photo of the Native American tribesman that I used to copy my previous look from. I love this photo because it's so old- it looks really authentic.
(Photo from www.native-red.com)

Native American Tribal Tattoo Practice

Tonight I decided to do a practice tribal tattoo of something that I haven't yet researched or posted about. I asked my boyfriend to model, and found a really old picture of a Native American tribesman, whose facial tattoo I copied. I was drawn to this particular picture because I really liked how the design was simple, but very graphic and bold, therefore becoming the main focus of the man's face. I used my SupraColour palette and Illamasqua angled brush, which admittedly I found difficult to create straight and even lines with. My lines aren't particularly straight and the whole look isn't as symmetrical as it was meant to be , but I like the final outcome of it, and I'm excited to research more and post about Native American tribes, as that culture is one that I've always been drawn to. 

Dia De Los Muertos Image Inspiration

A Mexican shop selling hundreds of traditional Sugar Skulls
(Photo from www.celebrate-day-of-the-dead.com)

A Sugar Skull tattoo, which are becoming more and more popular.
(Photo from www.ratemyink.com)

A beautiful Day of the Dead inspired
look from Lena Hoschek's S/S13 catwalk
(Photo from www.stylist.co.uk)

Dia De Los Muertos

Despite not being the tradition of a typical 'tribe', the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival is something that is widely recognisable as a Mexican tradition, and something that is now part of the Latin American identity. The premise behind it, what it is as a tradition, and the way in which people use traditional costumes and makeup to celebrate it, links it closely with many other typical tribal practises. 

The Day of the Dead is a national holiday in Mexico, but is also celebrated widely across Latin America, along with smaller areas in North America, Europe, and the Philippines and Oceania. The holiday is a celebration of the dead, bringing family and friends together to remember and celebrate their loved ones who have passed on. The deceased are honoured by their families who build them private altars in their cemeteries, decorated with sugar skulls and marigolds, and the favorite foods, beverages and past possessions of the dead. 

While brightly coloured paper decorations and bright flowers play a large part in the festivities, in an amazing juxtaposition with that, so do skulls and skeletons. Figurines of skeletons along with traditional Mexican 'Sugar Skulls' (skulls made out of packed sugar that are decorated with brightly coloured flowers, floral patterns, and often jewels and precious stones) can be seen covering gravestones, shrines and streets, along with people (mainly children) whose faces have been painted as traditional and sugar skulls - this is the part that I want to use as inspiration for my final look. 

What has caught my attention most about Mexican sugar skulls is not only how popular they have become as tattoos and as inspiration for makeup looks in ad campaigns and on catwalks, and as dressing-up costumes, but the way in which they combine beauty and ugliness and life and death. That juxtaposition is eye-catching but also thought provoking, and I think it reflects what the Dia de los Muertos festival is all about. As much as I'm drawn to Mexican Sugar Skulls and what they represent, and the tradition of the Day of the Dead festival, I feel that in contrast with the Apatani tribal look, this one is slightly too decorative and feminine (and also too commonly used in modern media) - I'm yet to find tribal inspiration that is a good balance between striking and graphic, and complex and decorative, so I will continue to research more tribes.  (Photos of Sugar Skulls to follow).

Freehand Drawing Practise: Dia De Los Muertos

A Mexican Sugar Skull design drawn over a MaxFactor ad campaign.

Last night I wanted to practise more freehand pattern drawing as I feel like that is something really important in making my final design the best it can be, and I wanted to do something a little more decorative and feminine. I decided to draw a design inspired by Mexican 'Day of the Dead' sugar skulls. This was alot of fun to draw as, although the designs are traditionally very symmetrical on the face, they are also pretty, free-flowing and very decorative. This made a nice change from the very linear and graphic designs of the Maori and Apatani tribal tattoos that I have so far researched, and has made me want to look into the Day of the Dead tradition as one of my possible final inspirations. Posts on that to follow!

Tribal Pattern Drawings

Freehand drawing practise (Loosely inspired by an Oriental tribal pattern)

A Maori inspired design

Part of our preparation for designing and applying a final look is to work on our freehand drawing skills. Here are two attempts at tribal facial designs that I drew with a biro, on top of pictures taken from an old 'Pop' magazine.

Apatani Woman

A traditional Apatani woman
(Photo from www.indiashots.com) 

Tribe: Apatani

The Apatani (sometimes known as Tanii), are a small tribal group of people from the Arunachal Pradesh district in India. They live in the Ziro Valley, although some members have moved outside of the small colony, making the total population around 26,000 across the whole state. 

The reason why the Apatani tribespeople piqued my interest is because there are many unique ways in which they are identifiable; Examples of these are they way in which the build their permanent settlements and housing structures, the shape of the traditional carriage baskets they weave, and most importantly, their facial modification and tattooing. The Apatani's practised their traditional facial tattooing and modification until the 1970's, when the tradition died out. The older females of the tribe can still be seen with two specific tattoos - a thick black-green line running from the forehead to the tip of the nose, and a set of lines on the chin. The male members of the tribe have a much more discreet T-shaped tattoo on their chins, and the females were the only members to be decorated with large, facial-modifying nose plugs, called Yaping Hurlo. What is most interesting about the facial branding of the women of the Apatani, is the reasoning behind it. Whereas with many tribes the reason for tribal markings and tattoos is either for recognition, beauty or fear, the Apatani women's faces were modified in order to make them look ugly, so that intruding men from other tribes would be put off and warned away. 

So far in my research, this is the first tribe that I have come across that has marked their members for that reason, and I find that incredibly interesting. The design and colours of the tattoos and nose plugs are simple and graphic, but the effect that they have on changing the face and robbing the women of their individuality and beauty is very strong. 

Introduction to Wild Kingdom

Throughout the course of the 'WILD KINGDOM' module, I'll be using this blog to document my research into all things TRIBAL, and map out my ideas for a final look and makeup design.

My first port of call is to research different tribes from a wide variety of countries - The most important factor in choosing which tribes I will eventually focus on, for me, is to find two or three tribes that take tribal beauty to the EXTREME. I want to get as far away from Western ideals of beauty as possible, and discover WHAT the tribespeople do that visually gives them their identity, WHY they do it, and WHERE these ideals originated from.