Scarification in sub-Saharan Africa: social skin, remedy and medical import

Roland Garve; Miriam Garve; Jens C Türp; Julius N Fobil; Christian G Meyer

doi:10.1111/tmi.12878

Scarification in sub-Saharan Africa: social skin, remedy and medical import

Trop Med Int Health. 2017 Jun;22(6):708-715. doi: 10.1111/tmi.12878. Epub 2017 May 9.

Authors

Roland Garve¹, Miriam Garve², Jens C Türp^{1

3}, Julius N Fobil⁴, Christian G Meyer^{5

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Center for Natural and Cultural History of Man, Danube Private University, Krems, Austria.
² Department of Quality Management and Accreditation, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany.
³ University Center for Dental Medicine Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
⁵ Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam.
⁶ Institute for Tropical Medicine, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany.
⁷ Health Focus GmbH, Potsdam, Germany.

PMID: 28380287
DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12878

Abstract

Various forms of body modification may be observed in sub-Saharan Africa. Hypotheses and theories of scarification and tribal marking in sub-Saharan Africa are described, plus the procedure of scarification, examples from several African countries, assumed effects in prevention and treatment of diseases, and the medical risks resulting from unsterile manipulation.

Keywords: Afrique subsaharienne; consecuencias médicas de la escarificación; conséquences médicales de la scarification; escarificación; importance sociale; medical consequences of scarification; scarification; significado social; social significance; sub-Saharan Africa; teoría de marcaje tribal; theories of tribal marking; théories du marquage tribal; África subsahariana.

MeSH terms

Africa South of the Sahara
Body Modification, Non-Therapeutic*
Culture*
Female
Humans
Male
Medicine*
Risk