When there is too much beauty in the heart, it spills outward: in kind eyes and a smile, in a show of tradition or companionship – or in ink. Blue and faded, the Arab women embrace rural facial tattoos as a symbol of faith in all its forms. From sigils on the forehead and warded ill-will, to beatific religious dotting and astrological motifs, palm leaves are used to ink into skin and produce a vision for the “a waning matriarchy” that once flourished in the region.
These are some women who wear their hearts in ink.
Tunis, Tunisia | Photo Credit: Yumna Al-Arashi
Tunis, Tunisia | Photo Credit: Yumna Al-Arashi
Morocco | Photo Credit: Yumna Al-Arashi
Algeria | Photo Credit: Yasmin Bendaas
Berber woman | Photo Credit: HuffPost
Turkey | Photo Credit: Chris Kaspar
1960 portraits of Algerian women | Photo Credit: Marc Garanger
1960 portraits of Algerian women | Photo Credit: Marc Garanger
The post In Photos: Matriarchal Facial Tattoos first appeared on Egyptian Streets.
Source: egyptianstreets
