Modern Primitive

From BMEzine Encyclopedia

The term created to define atavistic practices in a modern cultural setting was originally coined by west coast practitioner/shaman Fakir Musafar. Used to describe himself and a handful of others, the "ideal" Modern Primitive feels a closeness, even a "past life" tie to the body rites practiced by indigenous tribal people.

Tattoos favoured tend to be large neo-tribal black shapes that fit the contours of the body, with piercings such as the earlobes, septum and labret usually stretched to "beyond conventional" sizes.

Modern Primitives generally seek the spiritual side of modification, from private modification rituals to adding a ritual setting to conventional piercing procedures.

Note: Publishers Juno & Vale borrowed the term "Modern Primitive" for their landmark and best selling book Modern Primitives. Thought by some to be the bible of the modern modification scene and others to be a piece of overindulgent hoo-doo, the effect of this book was bringing heavier modification to the mass audience. Good or bad, it put a bisected penis in almost every major bookstore in North America, and regardless of how one feels about it politically, is guaranteed to be found in the bookshelf of almost every moderately modified person in the world.

See Also

• Modern Primitives (book entry)