Jens Uwe Parkitny: Marked for Life: Myanmar's Chin Women and their Facial Tattoos

Marked for Life documents the vanishing tradition and the unique beauty of facial tattooing among the women of the various Chin ethnic groups in Myanmar (Burma).

Though a centuries-old tradition, this tattooing practice has never been the subject of any anthropological research. Until the last century, the practice of facial tattooing among the so-called “hill tribes” of the Asian Pacific region was still fairly widespread; today it only survives in remote regions of the country. Even today, as Myanmar slowly opens up to the outside world through recent shifts in its political constitution, it is still considered among the least-known countries on earth because of the inaccessibility of many of its remoter regions. Jens Uwe Parkitny’s photographs provide a unique glimpse into an extraordinary culture that is quickly vanishing.