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Body piercing has been practiced worldwide since ancient times, with purposes ranging from religious and aesthetic to sexual. While many today choose to flaunt their piercings with pride, in the Victorian era, they were hidden beneath a carefully curated exterior. Some individuals on this list were even subjected to forced piercings. Slaves, children, and animals were all subjected to pain and humiliation in the name of religion, false beliefs, or someone’s twisted sense of amusement.
However, pain and humiliation are not the worst fates faced by those on this list. In ancient Egypt, a wrong piercing could result in execution. The following ten items explore the dark, often grotesque history of body piercing, covering both ancient and more recent practices surrounding the strange and varied origins of piercing the human body.
10. Ownership and Servitude
As mentioned in the Old and New Testament, body piercings symbolized devotion, identity, and ownership. They represented the protection offered by specific masters and deities. Therefore, anyone who dared to harm someone wearing a piercing, whether it was an earring or a nose ring, would face severe consequences from the gods.
A similar custom was found among the Israelites, as indicated in numerous biblical texts. Men, women, and children often wore facial piercings to signify ownership and social status. Interestingly, it was common for a master to pierce the ear of a slave to symbolize permanent servitude and ownership.
In contrast, modern-day prophets strongly advise against any form of body piercings, except for medical purposes. Within the Mormon Church, these guidelines are now more lenient, allowing women to wear a single pair of modest earrings. However, men are strictly prohibited from having any piercings, and according to Brigham Young University officials—an institution owned by the LDS Church—any violation of these rules means ‘BYU is not the place for you.’
9. The New Trend
The Victorian era's contradictions are both fascinating and amusing, especially considering the false notion of an uptight and repressed society. Contrary to how history books depict them, the Victorians were much more open-minded than commonly assumed. For example, Victorian women had a strong affinity for tattoos, and hidden beneath their proper corsets were daring accessories, including nipple piercings. Inspired by the belief that a nipple piercing could enhance one's figure, and motivated by the allure of the trend, women in Paris began visiting jewelers eager to pierce their bodies.
The trend of nipple piercings spread so quickly in France that it was soon adopted by women in Britain. Many women had both nipples pierced with gold “bosom rings,” and some added an extra touch by linking the rings with a chain. Despite its sudden rise in popularity, the nipple ring craze in the Victorian era was short-lived, lasting only from the 1890s to the early 1900s.
8. Legislation
In the twenty-first century, it seems nothing is truly surprising. Absurd choices made by depraved individuals often lead to the creation of laws once deemed unnecessary. The lack of rational thought from such people brings about new legislation. A prime example of this occurred in 2011 when Pennsylvania became the first state to pass a law banning body art, including piercings and tattoos, on animals. This law came about after a woman was arrested for piercing kittens' ears and selling them online as 'gothic.'
A similar incident took place in Chicago, where wild rabbits were spotted hopping through the streets downtown, each wearing flashy dangling earrings. The offender has yet to be apprehended for what authorities consider an act of animal mutilation.
In 2014, New Jersey passed a law that imposed stricter penalties for piercing a pet's ear than for piercing a child's ear. The State Assembly almost unanimously voted to classify the unnecessary piercing or tattooing of an animal as a fourth-degree crime, punishable by up to 18 months in prison.
7. Superstitions
In late March or early April, the Chaitra Poornima is celebrated in Madhya Pradesh, India. On this full moon day, according to the Hindu calendar, villagers come together in the Betul district to partake in a centuries-old body piercing tradition. This event, known as ‘Hanuman Jayanti,’ has been passed down through generations, with the intent to cure various ailments, particularly chicken pox.
The Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), which causes chicken pox, is highly contagious without prior vaccination and results in the death of approximately 7,000 people worldwide. In a misguided effort to combat the virus, four men sing hymns while standing at the front and back of a person, and a needle attached to a thread is pierced into the individual's body. As elderly villagers observe, bare-chested men dance as part of the ritual, believing that the act of piercing the skin bestows divine power, driving away infections from the body.
One can only hope that the needles used in these rituals are sterilized. If not, it will take more than faith to ensure the participants' safety and health.
6. Bloodletting
Another body-piercing practice was common among the ancient Mayas of Central America. These elaborate and sacred ceremonies involved bloodletting to appease the gods, with the belief that by doing so, one would experience an altered state of consciousness.
Bloodletting rituals, as they were known, involved piercing various parts of the body such as the tongue, lower lip, cheeks, and even the foreskin of the penis. A range of tools, including stingray spines, bark, bone awls, and flint blades, were used to puncture the skin, followed by threading bits of straw through the wounds.
Unlike the Aztecs, human sacrifice was less prevalent in ancient Maya society during the Classic period (A.D. 250-900), although it still occurred for certain religious ceremonies. Evidence shows that some of these sacred rituals involved the sacrifice of infants, typically through decapitation.
5. Body Suspension
Among the various rituals mentioned, body suspension is perhaps the most painful and dangerous form of body modification. This practice, which has seen a recent resurgence in popularity, involves suspending the human body from hooks pierced through the skin. While some medical professionals view it as a sign of a mental disorder, others see it as a means of spiritual exploration.
Despite its cultural adaptation in the modern Western world, body suspension has roots dating back as far as 5,000 years, notably in the Hindu rituals of Thaipusam and Chidi Mari in India. The Mandan Native American tribe, along with the Sioux Native American tribe, also practiced body suspension as part of their Sundance ritual.
In contemporary times, however, the rising sub-culture of suspending the body with meat hooks is often viewed with skepticism due to the risks involved, such as infections and skin tears. Whether it's seen as a form of self-expression or self-mutilation, body suspension has become a cultural trend, with a growing number of enthusiasts across the United States seeking to attain a new level of spiritual consciousness.
4. Costly Adornments
In ancient Egypt, body ornamentation was a statement of wealth, religious beliefs, and social standing. The upper class, in particular, was known for their exquisite adornments, which included jewelry, wigs, cosmetics, clothing, and tattoos. Surprisingly, body piercings were not considered highly fashionable during the early New Kingdom and were mainly confined to the earlobes.
In contrast to tattoos, which were widely popular and symbolized loyalty to Pharaohs and deities, certain body piercings were reserved even for the royal family. For example, only the Pharaoh himself was allowed to have his navel pierced; anyone else who attempted this would face execution.
The penalty for such a beautification was quite severe, with punishments ranging from mutilation to burning, or even forced suicide. Many of these executions were carried out by impalement, where the individual was placed atop a stake to endure a slow and agonizing death.
3. Infibulation
The final topic on this list addresses infibulation, a practice that is not for the faint-hearted. This procedure involves piercing the foreskin with a metal clasp, ring, or safety pins to keep the skin sealed over the glans penis. The earliest written account of this practice comes from the Roman author Aulus Cornelius Celsus, who lived from 25 B.C. to A.D. 50. What would now be seen as a grotesque and disturbing act of body mutilation was once used in ancient Rome to preserve the voices of young singers. In fact, it was common for choir boys to wear an eye-catching genital ornament as part of their standard costume.
Curiously, infibulation experienced a resurgence during the Victorian era as a medical strategy in the so-called “war on masturbation.” A wave of mass hysteria over masturbation in the late 18th to 20th centuries swept through European and American medical circles. Many medical professionals at the time falsely believed that masturbation was the root cause of nearly all disease and social issues. To counter this, physicians “argued and scientifically demonstrated to their satisfaction that masturbation was a debilitating and lethal disease.” Consequently, medical authorities encouraged various mental institutions and orphanages to adopt infibulation as a treatment against the will of the children and patients.
2. A Pirate’s Burial
From vivid portraits to blockbuster films, pirates are often depicted as filthy, uncouth rogues. Among their many accessories, whether it's an eye patch or a parrot perched on a captain's shoulder, one item that pirates are almost always shown wearing is a gold loop earring. It's worth noting that gold earrings were worn for a variety of reasons, both superstitious and practical. For example, there was a widespread belief that precious metals had healing properties, including curing seasickness, improving eyesight, and protecting one from drowning. Additionally, pirates who manned the ship’s cannons during battle used their gold earrings by attaching wads of wax to them, transforming the loops into makeshift earplugs.
Perhaps one of the most fascinating reasons a pirate would wear a gold earring is its role in covering funeral costs should the pirate die on foreign land. However, if the pirate were to perish aboard the ship, the earring would be rendered useless. Since it was considered bad luck to keep a corpse on board, the body would be promptly thrown overboard after a proper ceremony for sea burial.
1. “Mahu”
Hafada, also known as scrotum piercing, is as absurd as it is unsettling. This disturbing ritual is believed to have originated in Arabia, eventually spreading across Northern Africa and the Middle East. The details of this practice involve piercing the left side of the scrotum and inserting several rings. The trend later spread to Europe when French Foreign Legionnaires stationed in Lebanon and Syria brought the practice back with them.
If you thought piercings couldn’t become more unusual, consider the “Guiche,” which involves piercing a male’s perineum between the anus and testicles. This practice is said to have originated in the South Pacific, where it was carried out by a “Mahu” (a transvestite male) on boys aged 12 to 14. Interestingly, Mahus are highly respected members of society who are believed to possess magical powers according to adherents of the ancient Tahitian religion.
The piercing served as a rite of passage into puberty. It involved making a slit with a knife and inserting a string of raw pigskin. After the wound had healed, bangles were attached, creating a sound that would “bang pleasurably against the back of the scrotum when the man walked naked.”
