Beauty in the scars: Skin cutting tradition of the Kaningara tribe of Papua New Guinea 

The Kaningara tribe of Papua New Guinea follow a bizarre tradition called the skin cutting or scarification

Scarification is mainly practiced by the male members of the Kaningara tribe marking the transition from boyhood to manhood

The process involves creating patterns of cuts on the chest, back or buttocks which may take up to several months to finish and another few months to heal. 

The bloody body modifications are held in the Spirit House and it is strictly forbidden to women.

Prior to the ritual, the men have to spend several month in seclusion in the  Spirit House, listening to their genealogies, songs and other spiritual messages, whispered to them by their parents. 

During this time, they are not allowed to look or speak to women, always face the wall and never use fingers while eating or scratching himself.

Besides that, they can not smoke, chew betel, eat fruit and vegetables – only fish, sago and occasional banana are allowed, and always cover themselves with a sheet when going outside to the bathroom. It is believed that if any of these taboos are broken, the initiate-to-be will soon die.

Hundreds of tiny incisions are made in their torso, then packed with mud from the river until they form callouses and a pattern that replicates the head of a crocodile. The animal is revered for its strength.

The aim of the ritual is to remove any traces of their mother's blood by skin-cutting and to fill them with the power of the crocodile spirit.

The skin cutting is usually performed by the maternal uncle of the initiate. The cutter makes about 450 razor cuts , starting from the chest, which results in a lot of bleeding.
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