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 The
Derung people are residents of the ferocious
Derung River Valley. They have adapted to living
in some of China's most isolated terrain by hunting,
gathering, fishing and farming. They
were long isolated from the world and characterized
as "primitive." Even today, they have
few roads to their villages.
The Derung are one of just two minority groups
in China known for the custom of tattooing their
face, but in recent times, this tradition has
become less common. In the not too distant past,
when a woman reached puberty (at the age of
12 or 13), she had her face tattooed.
First, a design was drawn on the face. Pricks
were then made with a bamboo needle dipped in
soot. The scars then formed the tattoo. People have offered
many explanations for the tattoos. Some think
the tattoos symbolized a woman's clan or tribe.
Others say the tattoos served an exorcism purpose.
Still others say the Derung men considered a
tattooed woman more beautiful, and would not
marry one without tattoos on her face.
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