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Piercing Our Past - Bod Mod in the ancient world
Body
modification, ie. piercing, scarring, branding, tattooing, etc. have been
a part of wo/man's adventure through his/her sexual history. Although in
the past decade or so, body mod has seen a resurgence, for many years,
anything beyond ear piercing was simply not acceptable. Hold over from the
reign of prudery of Victoria assured society of its place in mediocrity
until the sub-cultures busted through the veil of society's disdainful
sniffs once more.
Today, piercing and tattooing, scarification
and alteration are nearly common place as people take on outward signs of
their personalities. Most cultures throughout history felt strongly about
the use of adornment, permanent or temporary, as a sign of pride and
self-confidence. The art of skin painting with henna has seen the light of
current fashion and women's magazines. Brides-to-be used hand painting as
a way to make herself more attractive to her mate.
Tribal and cultural bod mod is seen in
ancient and near-modern myths and rituals. Both for the religious
connotations and for the sexuality involved. In the early history of the
Filipino peoples, the males would have their penises pierced with small
gold rods in the fashion that today is called a palang. Both ends of the
rod were fashioned with tiny spurs. During sex, the man used extreme
gentleness to insert his pierced manhood into the woman. And as his
erection occurred, the spurs dug into the very delicate flesh of the
female's inner sanctum. He was unable to withdraw until his erection had
receded by whatever means.
Pierced nipples are legend among the queens
and ladies of the ancient world. Egypt's Cleopatra was said to have had
one inverted nipple and had it pierced to cause its return to perky
posture. She apparently used tiny smoothed pebbles and inserted them into
her pierced part to fill out the detail of her malformation.
Gladiators were genitally pierced for two
reasons. The first being a functional purpose. When they fought naked in
the arenas, their penises were tied down by means of a thin leather strap
through the ring piercing the head of their organ, to their upper thigh or
around the testicles. This kept "it" out of harm's way during the swinging
of very sharp instruments in the vicinity of their genitals. The second
function being that once restricted, the subclasses could no longer attain
pregnancy by the great fighters. Unions and the resulting offspring were
highly sought after by the women of the day.
The Frenum or piercing which crosses just
beneath the head on the underside of the penis, was used in the ancient
mid-east and east as a way to prevent any form of sodomy. However, the
Frenum is also proven to enhance greatly, the sexual enjoyment of the
female. The Kama Sutra talks about attaching devices to the frenum
piercings to enhance the woman's pleasure. These devices ranged from a
small ring or ripple of glass or gold, to a horsehair collar. Ecstasy to
"excuse me?"
Women of the south Pacific islands would
stretch and elaborately pierce their labia. This, they felt, would help
them to attract a husband.
Piercing to a female's genital lips were
thought to make her more valuable as a wife in ancient tribal customs of
central Africa. An entire ceremony of womanhood was performed around these
piercings, complete with sacred blessings and the symbolic sacrifice of
her girlhood.
Bod Mod is as prevalent today as in our
earliest histories. Youth and adults alike now have tongue piercing, ears,
face, breasts and genitals. Unfortunately, the rituals of sacrificing or
adornment of the body no longer are a part of the whole experience. Rites
of passage seem to be receding further into our murky background. Perhaps
the resurrection of Bod Mod has enabled the Rites of Passage once again to
instill self-confidence, individuality and pride. Long live
self-expression.
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Copyright - 2001
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