Women of two tribes living in Victoria Mountain, west of Myanmar, have a custom of tattooing their faces as a symbol of maturity and beauty.
Living in the mountains of Chin state, west of Myanmar, women of these tribes considered facial tattoos as a way of beauty.
Victora Mountain, the highest peak in Chin state, is the Munn's residence and the Dai clan.Both tribes have a unique face tattoo tradition.
Dai tribal women covered their faces with black dots.Currently, this type of tattoo appears only in older women.
When a girl reaches puberty (about 12-14 years old), she is considered old enough to be tattooed - a symbol of maturity.
Tattoos are made of hemp and an ink made from soot, bile of beef, herbs and lard.Some people cover their faces, while some only tattoo some motifs.
The Munn women have a series of small circles connected, forming a semicircle, tattooed from the cheek to the neck.
This strange custom originated in the 11th century, when young women tattooed their faces to avoid being enslaved by kings.
Today the girls of the tribe no longer perform this tradition.
Italian photographer Marco Giovanelli went to see these women in March and said his notion of beauty changed.
Giovanelli recounted: "According to legend, an ancient king tried to capture slaves, the original tattoo was against this. The tattoos made women ugly."
Over time, tattoos have become the norm of beauty, and women are proud of having men's face tattoos.
Giovanelli said he "never met nice, generous and friendly people than Chin women".
Many women wear traditional clothes with vivid colors, almost always in their hands.
The new generation no longer implements this tradition due to prohibition and heavy fines.
A Dai woman with a face covered with small tattoos.They conceived that the more beautiful the tattoo was.
