Traditions of Ritual Scarification Fade as Nigeria Modernizes

By: The Associated Press

Published: March 21, 2007 in the International Herald Tribune

This article is about the declining numbers of people choosing to be ritually scared in Nigeria, as the cultural need for the process is fading away in the era of globalization. The Nigerian people believe that traditional scarification has healing powers and is an important part of their tribal identity. The originally used of the scars were for medicinal value and to identify friends and foes in times of war. Children are often scarred at a young age, but adults may choose to go through the process later in life as well. Recently, many Nigerians believe that scarification offers precious continuity between generations in a rapidly changing globalized world.

Scarification is no barrier to success in most African countries. It is a tradition in all three of Nigeria's major tribes and even the president of Nigeria, President Olusegun Obasanjo has faint parallel lines from scarification his cheeks.

Many people believe that globalization is behind the decline in the practice. Most particularly, urbanization and education are teaching Nigerians that the practice may be cruel because the child has no choice, and limiting as the globalizing world is lifting all people onto a level playing field. On the other side of that, in Nigeria, which because of globalization is now exposed to American hip-hop culture and migration, the tribal scars can be a form of individual self-expression, much like tattoos in the West.