Ga'anda Women

There is a six stage scarification process that the Ga'anda women go through. This usually happens when a girl is five or six years old. The first step is scarification of the stomach, then followed by the forehead, neck, waist and buttocks, back of neck, cutting in places, and lastly on the thighs. They make seven parallel lines on the upper chest making a continuous pattern. A triangle pattern is cut between the breasts. On the stomach they make curves going into columns. They continue this on the other side of the body. Lateral lines go over the belly button. Then a semicircle goes under the belly button and then contuse around the body in parallel lines. Going a little bit lower they put what looks like raindrops continuing to fall. Lastly, the parallel lines follow the vertical ones on the back, which intersect with one another.

The marriages for the Ga'anda people are arranged for them in infancy. Large iron hoe blades must be given by the family of the groom. The Ga'anda regarded the blades as valuable currency and as primary markers of wealth. Girls experience a long program of body and facial scarifications. Hleeta also will determine the timing of the suitor's continuing bride wealth payments. The arrangements involve long term family obligations. The first step shows a young girls womb, which emphasizes her reproductive potential. This stage also shows the boys formal gifting of the iron hoe blades to the girls family. The second and third stage shows that the groom begins helping his in-laws on their farms, which he repeats each season until the girls final marks are made. When this is done a payment in guinea corn beer is made to the bride's family. Both the number and size of these containers show the economic investment such as gifts of beer. The fifth stage shows notice to both families that the quantities of foodstuffs to finalize the marriage contract must be done before the last scarification gets completed. Each girl must have her ears pierced and her upper and lower lips perforated.

Conformity for the Ga'anda is important because this is their way of life, everyone who is a woman must go through this scarification process otherwise they feel like they are not part of the group or even a woman. If anyone has a baby before they finish their final steps they are looked upon as being bad individuals. They have these festivals for the people who complete the scarification process. The last stage of the scarification process causes extensive bleeding that the women must allow days for themselves to heal.

I feel like in today's culture many people will wear what they want and have piercing's and tattoos wherever. In the past I feel like many people would wear what is "cool" or what was "in style," but these days it is not so much like that. For example, I know that if you see someone wearing all black and had tattoos

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