Apatani Lady wrapped in blanket
The Apatani tattooing procedure was a primitive and very painful process. Mothers would make incisions in their four-year-old daughters’ skin with a thorn and vigorously rub mustard oil and soot into the wounds. After this, they allowed the wounds to become infected so that the tattoos grew larger and clearer.
© Kieron Nelson 2002 "Vanishing Cultures Photography" All rights reserved