"Modern Primitive" Body Modifications

I know that we live in a day in age where I shouldn’t be surprised reading things like this but I really am. I’m not one to disagree with religion or beliefs or anything, I really do believe that what you think is your own business. But not so much this... Reading this all I could think was that these people are mutilating their bodies and intentionally hurting themselves saying in brings them spiritual satisfaction. I think things like this should be illegal. In my opinion these people are being selfish. People across the world are being forced to do the kind of painful things they do against their will and this culture is doing it saying it brings them happiness. 

What they should really be doing is focusing this energy on fighting and bringing an end to the people who are being tortured with this kind of pain across the world. Whether it be children being abused or even prisoners of war these are things they should be working against not spending time ripping hooks from their bodies. It’s not that I don’t think tattoos and piercings are acceptable. I think this is a good way of expressing yourself, but I don’t think centering your whole world, beliefs and religion around it is a healthy or productive idea.

-Mare

So this article is focused on Modern Primitive subculture. And what that is, is people that pretty much place a substantial amount of significance on their body modifications. They research what design and how it needs to be done in order to get it. They can be identified by their use of extreme body modifications, such as multiple body piercings, body-sleeve tattoos, brands, cuttings, and three-dimensional Teflon implants. It is to modify their bodies and to experience new physical sensations, specifically pain. The whole reason they do this is to reach spiritual transcendence.

Some examples of body modification rituals are:

ritual piercing

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single-use needles are used to pierce the skin and are placed in a designated arrangement to create a design – which typically yields temporary body modifications.  The needles are removed, but the design only lasts for a few days, which is why these people do it often. This piercing ritual is often considered a gateway experience – according to them “piercing rituals indicated they reached an altered state of consciousness and wanted to experience more intense pain in future body modification practices.

ritual hook hanging

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just like the ritual piercing, except a little more intense. The people are actually hung from their backs and swung back in forth until they pass out.

3-D implants

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One of the common things that the people that performed these different kinds of rituals all had in common, was that they all wanted to do it again, except they wanted to feel an even more intense amount of pain. The whole reason any of these rituals are done is because “the pain reinforces and establishes the certainty of the body’s physicality. At the same time Modern Primitives recognize that they are not only of their physical bodies, but also exist in a mental and spiritual realm as well." 

- Alex

It was very hard for me to get through this week’s article regarding individuals that get their bodies modified because of their religious beliefs. As stated in the article “Body Modification Rituals: Meaning of Pain” the author describes that Modern Primitives claim that their body modification rituals are a way of seeking spiritual transcendence. 

The pain they received from these rituals is a blessing in their eyes and it gets them to a spiritual place where many people never get to experience. These discussions are very taboo and most people will not agree that mutilating your body is correct but I believe that in different cultures people are raised to believe certain things to be true. There are no definite answers toward religion so who’s to say one thing is correct. If mutilating your body makes you feel closer to god or spiritual peace then I believe you should do it in a reasonable and moral manner. Regardless of religious beliefs or cultural differences, I still feel in my opinion that extreme body modification is disgusting and often quite hard to understand.

Val