Tattooing the Mouth

The more I look into the idea of tattooing the mouth, the more I find it deserves it's own post away from  other 'Tribal' tattoos.

Teeth Lacquering

While not a tattoo per se, it is a long-lasting body modification, just like the art work on the rest of the body. I came across this image in Catherine Legrand's 'Textiles: A World Tour'. It is of a woman of the White Trouser Yao tribe in the Viet Quang, Vietnam. I'll put in her description of the process because its so frickin interesting!!

Teeth Lacquering on a Yao woman, from 'Textiles: A World Tour'

I make the dye by crushing ants wings in lemon juice and letting the mixture steep for seven days... I do it at night and repeat the process at least five timesm until my teeth are really black. In the meantime, I just drink, no eating. I do the whole thing again every year. The dye stops your teeth decaying

In the book it talks about other mountain tribes in the Viet Quang who practice similar techniques. On further investigation, I found this article that says that 'it was believed that only savages, wild animals and the demons of the underworld had long white teeth'. For this reason, it was common for children across Asia to have their teeth filed down or painted as they hit puberty.