Jingili man with chest and shoulder scarification...

Jingili man with chest and shoulder scarification, Powell Creek, Central Australia, NT, 1901. (Photo; Spencer & Gillen)

Scarification was widely practiced in most tribes and has been part of various initiation ceremonies for thousands of years. The markings are very often different for each tribal Nation and/or tribes, from both men and women cultural practices. It is rare to see them in current times but they still do occur.

Here is a description by Doris Fletcher explaining the meanings of the scarification for the Kija peoples in the East Kimberley region perspective.

"... All those rock engravings in the countryside are what we call tribal marks, maburn in our language. The cuttings all over our country are also on people.

"The cuts are a stamp or a seal. Wardaman people (both men and women) have two cuts on each shoulder, two on the chest and four on the belly. Jawoyn people only have one cut on the shoulder, one on the chest and a big long one on the belly. Other people have three cuts on the shoulder and many on the belly. You must have the cuts before you can trade anything, before you can get married, before you can sing ceremonial songs and before you can blow a didgeridoo at big burial ceremonies.

"In the past, everyone had to have all these cuts and a hole in their nose. If they didn't, they were 'cleanskin' or unbranded, and unbranded people couldn't do anything. The cuts are made when a man or woman is around 16 or 17. They make them with a stone knife, made out of a special type of rock like jaspar. This rock is like stainless steel, very sharp so you can't feel it cutting.

"After the cut is made, they put a little burnt wood on the cut, We call it conkerberry and it's bush medicine - stops the cut from bleeding. They put the stick in the hot ashes before they make the cuts on the boy or girl, and after they're cut, they put the stick on the cut. They have to keep the stick on the cut until the skin dries up and the stick falls off. Sometimes they also put on the ashes of a gum tree, like a powder. This also stops the bleeding and keeps the skin firm.

These cuts on our bodies relate to the rock paintings. The maburn on the rock are like a letter that tells people they are in Wardaman tribal land."