Body Modification within Tribes

I have always been interested in body modification, I have numerous piercings all over my body and I love them, I always saw them as making me a bit more unique as hardly any of my friends have them, but I had never given much thought into why we get them... it never even dawned on me that piercings, tattooing, stretching etc. were ancient rituals from all over the world, it always seemed like something so modern. 

Because of my great love and interest this has lead me to focus quite a lot on this area, I want to explore it more and maybe include it within my final photoshoots, maybe i could try some DIY scarification using latex? 

I have found some images of tribal body modifications and am going to research into their meanings- all images are courtesy of a google images search

Neck stretching- definitely not seen in todays modern societies

An elongated neck is seen as beautiful. The Padaung tribe of Burma introduce young girls of about 5 to  their first neck ring, they are added to slowly over the period of their lives, it doesn't technically make the neck any longer, but it pushes down the shoulders. It is also a large indication of wealth for families based on how many neck rings and also how valuable they are on a girls neck. It is a myth that the head will flop if the rings are taken off as they are removed regularly for cleaning- although, they can not drink from a cup as their ability to put their head back is a problem. 

Obviously i could never elongate a models neck, but these gold rings or cuff necklaces are actually very in fashion right now, i could somehow incorporate them into a look as it would also conflict with modern society trends as well as this historic ritual.

Lip stretching- again not something you would ever see in todays modern societies, but in Ethiopia it is custom for women to stretch their lips, often both of them at the same time- the size of the disk indicates a woman's social standing, wealth and basic status.

Scarification- although an ancient form of body art, this phenomenon is creeping into modern society as a new form of self expression. Apparently scarification occurs mostly within the darkest skinned communities as tattoos would be too difficult to show up. Also often the "clean skinned" people of the tribe were not allowed to take part in many things as they had not yet taken part in the historic practices. 

A lot of people may disagree but i find something quite beautiful about this picture, although the face is scared... I think it looks amazing, scarification will definitely be something I want to try and develop with my project, I want to try and create the same effect hopefully.

Skin stretching- this is a form of modification that I see constantly in modern societies, it is very fashionable to have ear lobes stretched to all different sizes but again it was all copied from century old traditions from tribes around the world.

It is hard to imagine that the things I do to myself and my friends to are all mutilations that would normally occur as rights of passage or religious reasons.