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Labrets in Africa and Amazonia: medical implications and cultural determinants
Author(s) -
Garve Roland,
Garve Miriam,
Türp Jens C.,
Meyer Christian G.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/tmi.12812
Subject(s) - amazon rainforest , ethnology , geography , socioeconomics , history , sociology , ecology , biology
Summary The custom of wearing labrets has a long tradition. Labrets appeared independently several thousand years ago in various culture groups in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. Today, apart from diverse body modifications as increasingly practiced in western civilisations, lip plates and plugs are found among a small number of tribal groups only in Africa and Amazonia. We summarise the history of labrets in different societies, describe medical consequences of wearing lip plates and plugs for jaws and teeth and address relevant cultural issues.