tribal mark
Cultural skin symbol
A tribal mark is a permanent scar or pattern cut or burned into the skin to indicate membership in a particular ethnic group, family, or clan.
The practice is traditional in parts of Africa, where facial marks identify lineage and community: His tribal marks showed he was Yoruba.
The term sometimes extends to any culturally significant body modification—tattoos, piercings, or scarification—that signals group belonging.
- scarificationIntentional shallow skin cuts
- body modificationAltering your physical appearance permanently
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- family lineageRecord of ancestors
- lineageDescent from progenitors
ethnic identity · ritual · blood ritual · identity · face · cheek · forehead · ancestral · initiation · coming of age · rite of passage · heritage · cultural heritage · warrior · ceremonial · cutting · branding · indigenous