For few years now, government of Burma has allowed travelling to Mindat province. During my previous travels to this country, I did not have opportunity to rich an old tribe, a tribe that is a testimony of a passing era, that i was interested in. Now, from Yangon by plane I arrive to Sittwe in Bengal Bay. From here I travel by boat to a place called Mruk U, old capital of Arakan. Hundred kilometers later, by another boat, I arrive at a settlement of Chin tribe, a tribe of many ethnic groups of today’s Burma.
This settlement is known for face tattoos, which remind a spider’s web. Face tattooing was deliberately practiced by grandmothers on 7-10 year old girls, to prevent kidnappings from hostile tribes. This tradition lasts for over 300 years now. Although this practice which is considered a ritual was forbidden by the government only about 40 years ago, few hundred of settlement tribe members still practices this old tradition and animistic religion.