Culture Vs Torture
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What for some means culture for others might be a torture. Sometimes traditions of a small group, a tribe or even of a whole country, traditions that give their own identity and the diversity in this world can be a bit strange for the outsiders.
Let's take for example an aspect of the Chinese culture: foot-binding. Although today is not practiced anymore, there are many women with bound feet still alive. A long time ago, what might seem grotesque nowadays, was considered to be an art, and pretty popular also. It was the art of beautiful legs and identity. And all these despite the fact their feet were contorted by bandages, usually hiding infected, gangrenous flesh.
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Photograph © Isiah W. Taber
Copyright © Beverley Jackson
There are also various tribal traditions that might seem out of common. Each tribe has its own identity given by different marks like tattoos, paintings, piercings.
Baliem Valley images and other images from Papua - Copyright © 710928003
Copyright © Chris Rainier
Copyright © Chris Rainier
And we should not forget the long neck women of the Padaung or Kareni tribe of Myanmar (Burma). They extend their necks by fitting copper coils around them and consider it a sign of beauty. In the end, their necks become extremely long (to almost 40 cm) and, at the same time, very weak and they cannot support their heads without the coils.
Longear Padong Hilltribe Woman - PHOTOGRAPHIK © E.G. Hodske
Each tradition and culture has a strong meaning and history for the ones which are part of it. And therefore they should be understood and admired for their life and beliefs, for their strength. What would be the world without diversity?
Filed under: Weird Pictures
Cultura Vs tortura…
Lo que para unos es considerado cultura, tradición, etc. para otros es sólo tortura, sometimiento, rasgo distintivo de la casta, tribu, sexo, etc., algunas no tan lejanas a nosotros. De esto trata esta entrada (en inglés), con buenas fotografías qu…
I just discovered this site , and I´m pretty impressed. A lot of remarkable things, the name weirdomatic is chosen wisely!
As for the longneck women, there has been a documentary (I think on NG) about them, and it came out that not the neck is elongated but the shoulders were pushed downwards. One could even see x-rays of those women on this show, and one of them actually took of her copper coil (which they usually don´t do, because it takes hours and hours to take them off and put them back on.
(One could even see x-rays of those women on this show, and one of them actually took of her copper coil (which they usually don�t do, because it takes hours and hours to take them off and put them back on.)
the ladies with the longleck. It would be suicide for them to take the copper coils off. when they start puting on the coils they are very young like the picture of the little girl on this page. but as they keep adding more and more. there necks become to thin and to weak to hold their head alone with out the coils. with out the coils there neck will snap. the human head weights more then you think. the neck need to be able to hold it up…
this shiit is crazy
And then there are Vomitoriums….
I was watching a show about the rings around the neck and like spacekeeper said they normally don’t take them off. Although it is thought that they cannot support the 10 pounds that is our head, they can. What the rings do is just move the location of the collar bone, it doesn’t cause the neck muscles to atriphy. The women that took off the rings had had an indentation from them but otherwise looked normal. That is also a dieing practice, just like to foot binding. I suggest that everyone reads Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I know that i am enjoying it.
Out of all of the pictures, I think scarification is the most easy to stomach upon sight. I mean, I understand the others… and why people would do them, but sometimes I think it’s a little extreme. Scarification, to me, is kind of like getting tattooes, though instead of putting ink in your skin, you design scars.
omg! i am reading a book called snow flower and the secret fan. and they explain the process of footbinding! it sound sooo painful!
I’m reading snow flower too…I, obviously have heard of foot binding but never had the drive to find out more about it…it is truly amazing. I don’t really understand how this translated to beauty but I guess that is the deep cultural stuff that doesn’t make sense to most of us. All I can say is WOW after looking at several pictures of women. OOOWWWWW!!!
i love that book i’ve read it like 3 times!
Vomitoria were exits not places to vomit. (that mistake came from the 1920s). Even though the Romans did vomit after a meal, they did so in the toilet. One urban myth overturned.
The neck rings can be taken off without killing the women. Another urban myth!