Body Art of World Cup

Traditionally, body art has served to attract the opposite sex, boost self-esteem, ward off or invoke spirits, indicate social position or marital status, identify with a particular age or gender group or mark a rite of passage, such as puberty or marriage. It's this sort of strictly prescribed, highly ritualistic decoration that Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher depict in their book, African Ceremonies. "We've tried to show how body art is relevant to every stage of development, from birth to death," says Angela Fisher.

Primitive tribes were certainly convinced that the spirit, having escaped from the body at death, retained a replica of its earthly tenement. They therefore used tattoo marks as a means of identification in the next world and a passport to future happiness. (Ronald Scutt, Art, Sex and Symbol, 1974, p. 63)

"I wanted some decoration. See, the one on my wrist is for everybody; the one on my tit is for me and my friends. Just a little treat for the boys, like icing on the cake." - Janis Joplin

"If the body is a temple, then tattoos are its stained glass windows."
Vince Hemingson, November 10, 2010.