Some Information About Body Piercing

Body piercing is an age old tradition that has taken place for over thirty thousand years. People pierce various body parts for a variety of reasons including as part of cultural or religious practices. This is particularly common in certain communities on the African continent. In more recent times the most common reason for ornamenting oneself is for appearance. The most common parts to adorn with jewels are the nose, ears and belly button but it is possible to pierce almost any body part.

It is most common to see piercings on young people who have them largely for fashion reasons. It is possible to get all kinds of ornaments and jewels to decorate oneself with and the items can range in price which makes it easy to keep up with changes in fashion. Although most common among the young there are some older people that get pierced too. Some religious cults practice piercing and of the major religions Hinduism is the best known for doing this too.

It can be quite difficult to trace the history of this practice however evidence of it has been found in Egyptian tombs that are about five thousand years old. It is believed that in this civilization these body decorations were a sign of high status. The pierced Mummy that was found was believed to be a rich man and he had ear plugs which were the original way of being pierced.

The pharaohs of Egypt were the only people allowed to have their belly buttons pierced and this proves that belly buttons have not started being pierced today. Any other subject even of the royal family was not allowed to adorn themselves in these piercings which were made of gold.

Piercings were also used as a symbol of importance and wealth in biblical times. The richest people wore the best jewelry and it was often used instead of money when providing a dowry for a bride. In addition these people wore jewelry for the same reasons we do now, in order to enhance their appearance and look beautiful.

In the Roman empire, piercings were used as both a mark of importance and also of slavery. Gladiators were considered to be slaves and they were not allowed to engage in sexual intercourse. This rule was enforced by piercing the genitals so that they could not partake in sexual activities. The piercing of the nipples was a sign that you were loyal to the empire and many centurions had these adornments to symbolize their strength and virility.

Another popular place to wear a piercing is on the tongue. For Mayan people and some American Indian tribes this is a religious symbol. They believe that the bloodletting involved brings them closer to God and is therefore desirable spiritually.

As the world developed, this practice received heavy criticism from the church that condemned it as sinful. This caused the practice to die down especially in the western world and spread all over due to colonialism. However in recent years it has grown back and is catching on popularity.

Body adornments began to get popular again during the Elizabethan period. It was most popular among sailors and travelers, so it was mostly men that wore piercings. Nowadays it is more common in women and the most common part to pierce is the ears.

In more recent years it has become popular to pierce more unusual parts of oneself. Its popularity grew with the emergence of rock and roll and other cultural movements. Rock stars and their followers have been known to pierce their nipples, eyelids and genitals.

Tattoos for women have become increasingly accepted over the last score of years. More and more females are choosing to get elaborate body art and body piercing.