Scarification

Scarification is used in initiation ceremonies and to distinguish tribes from one another.
In the Sepik River region of PNG, scarification is used prevalently to symbolize a boys crossing over into manhood. Similar to the Nama cult described in the previous blog entry, those tribes in the Sepik River region incorporate an animal god into the ritual; in this case, it is the crocodile instead of the bird. They believed that traveling packs of crocodiles had first given birth to the human populations of the area. In honor of their 'ancestors', young men are scared on their backs, chest, and buttocks using a bamboo sliver. Hundreds of individual wounds are made by the adult men of the tribe, testing the young man's strength and self discipline in the process. Once healed, the scars represent the teeth marks of their crocodile ancestors, who had ingested the young man and spit out a "crocodile-man."
I haven't personally ever had scaring done on my body (at least on purpose), but I have been aware of the recent popularity scaring has gained in Western society. Similar to the tattoo culture seen in the United States, scarification has become popular among body artists who have become bored with just tattoos and are looking for something that will push the limits of body modification.