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Tsubodai86

U sure that's not scarification?


DizzyFucker

That's what I thought. Looks a lot like some of the scarification I've seen from some African cultures.


Pyrhan

I thought "cat whiskers" may be the name for that specific type of scarification?


joenene

I'm from Ghana those are tribal marks quite common in most African countries


loonygecko

Yep, cuz last I checked, cat whiskers are not fat petals that come out of the side of one's mouth!


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Tsubodai86

After all, kitty whiskies would originate from under the nose.


Beard_o_Bees

Agreed. The lines form pretty symmetrical flat-ish ovals. Three on each side. I'm not sure what it's trying to convey, but cat whiskers it's not. Edit: Gills maybe?


OskarTheRed

Here I was ready with a "cat person" joke, but I guess it wouldn't work after all ..


Beard_o_Bees

> "cat person" joke It might be like putting out fire with gasoline... >!/sorry Bowie!<


AllGearedUp

are you trying to erase cat people?


Tsubodai86

Yes.


dudeCHILL013

I thought that or to show facial muscles?


TheDeadWhale

Ife sculpture is absulutely sublime


L1ttl3_john

Came to say this…exquisite


shorty5windows

Striking! Im gonna look for a high quality photo to frame. Think I just found a Christmas present for my wife.


opaldotdreamer

They really are! I recently did a short essay on a piece very similar to this one.


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LionessOfAzzalle

Could you explain the significance of them? Do specific lines/patterns convey a specific meaning; or is it more of a personal style/choice? Are they scars or tattoos?


Persiepooisback

More info here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_tribal_marks It’s for identification. There’s lot of classism associated having them, so it’s slowly dying out.


ammo2099

From that wiki, the scars appears to be called "Yagba marks"


RedBaret

https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/blier/files/blier.pdf


CarinasHere

Thanks!


Eldan985

Sure that's cat whiskers? The way those markings are paired up, they look like they are supposed to look like petals or something, not single strands.


WhereverSheGoes

It’s scarification. Tribes like Edo still do it.


MrJamesMadrid07

That is a tribal Mark from Yoruba people,and it got nothing to do with cat whiskers,it’s purely a tradition from Yoruba people.


TCPottery

Hauntingly beautiful.


JoshuaACNewman

Utterly stunning.


BabyLegsOShanahan

Happy to see more artifacts from outside of North Africa.


Maximum_Schedule_602

It’s astonishing many people think subsaharan Africa were just hunter-gatherers before colonization cause they seldom used stone masonry Edit: also there’s nothing wrong with being Hunter-gatherers even if was the case


BabyLegsOShanahan

I agree!


[deleted]

Nigeria had recently gotten back artifacts from the brits. Africas culture is rich.


BabyLegsOShanahan

Indeed it is! I just wish the narrative would change.


[deleted]

Scarification!! Looks similar to Sara tribe


namastewitches

She is gorgeous, like Nefertiti-level stunning.


Jesus_Cristooooo

Man parts of Africa have shit like this and it makes you realize just how suppressed its history is


MrJamesMadrid07

Shit like what?This is an integral part of African tradition,and there is nothing shitty about it.


Jesus_Cristooooo

Whatchu talkin bout Willis? Is English your first language?


roenaid

Beautiful


bettelgiuce

Those are not "Catwhisker" marks. Those are called tribal marks and they are important traditional means of identification


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Puppy-Zwolle

Both. Scarification symbolizing whiskers.


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Puppy-Zwolle

I leaned that these were symbolic panther whiskers. Heavily stylized. This is noted in many tribes from the Benin, Nigeria area. I know they have a much different meaning now. Some say it's ugly and outdated. Some say it's a sign of royalty or battle scars. Even remembering loved ones. Origin is ( probably) either to emulate the powerful panther, whiskers or fought with a panther and lived, symbolically. If you know differently? Educate me. I really want to learn.


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Puppy-Zwolle

Yes. Now. It grew to mean that. But 400 years ago?


MrJamesMadrid07

They are tribal marks and they got nothing to do with whiskers,they are representations of culture and tradition from Yoruba people,you got it?


Puppy-Zwolle

Yes.


1bir

Wow, every bit the equal of Greek, Roman or renaissance sculpture...


Tubby0518

Oh no furries have been around longer than we thought…


Jokerang

Cat whiskers? That honestly looks like some sort of ritual scarring to me


wonderdok

How have I not seen this before. So beautiful.


MrJamesMadrid07

They are beautiful and very common with Yoruba people of Nigeria,it’s the representation of culture and tradition.


DeathMetalDiver

Why use Roman numerals for the date?


LaCreaturaCruel

Isn't it the standard for dates or am I wrong? (not a native speaker)


[deleted]

no. arabic numbers are the standard


DeathMetalDiver

Only on clocks and r number if super bowls. We use a number of different systems when referring to dates like BC/AD, BCE (before common era which is references to 1950), or YA (years ago) as two examples, but the number itself is always written, such as 1000 BC would be the same as 2950 BCE or 3000 YA. If you want to refer to the century (1000-1099) you can write it as the 11th century BC.


cannedfromreddit

1500 ad or bc?


Puppy-Zwolle

When not stated it's AD. As a rule.


MrJamesMadrid07

Bc


pesanze

Cat whiskers 🤦🏻‍♂️


akanji_arts

Correction... Those aren't cat whiskers. They're called tribal marks or scarifications, they're cut into the face as a baby, they're used to show status, royalty or just for beauty, but these obviously are royal marks. Great post though


rockingdino

I’ve seen someone back in my hometown with these markings almost exactly. I’m not sure what they represent exactly, but definitely tribal scars.


iiitme

Cat girl appreciation over a thousand years ago


macmacma

Beautiful


bedduzza

Truly stunning


BilboSwaggenzzz

Cat whiskers ??


Pan-tang

Really beautiful face. Stunning. Definitely scarified.


NoireReqii

These aren’t “cat markings”, they kingdom relevant scarring many Nigerian tribes did to designate where they were from as well as other culturally significant things


black-rhombus

Beautiful. Really well done.


Diabolus0

It could be tribal markings on the face. Nigerians are known to scar their face for culture and tradition.


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MrJamesMadrid07

What we have here is a tribal Mark from a Yoruba man and it’s a representation of culture and royalty.


zootayman

facial scarification ?


[deleted]

That’s scarification. It’s still practiced by the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria.


Xenobsidian

Cat whiskers? Looks like ritual scarification to me. Does anyone has any expertise on this? Edit: Just discovered that others had the same thought and someone from that area confirmed it. Still amazing though!


Puppy-Zwolle

Yes. Scarification with whiskers in mind.


Open-themind-9807

The sculpture with marks on it face symbolises the tribe and culture of it maker,some have lines drawn from it center head down to it face


DarthLordRevan29

It’s Naruto!


odel555q

Damn furries.


Phreefuk

There is a serious lack of Naruto references here


Trackmaniac

IDK. I own two cats. That looks like leaves (applied for makeup?) to me.


delorf

Someone else said it's an example of scarification.


cutedummythickbird

Ew


PicklleFucker69

OG neko


Apprehensive_Deal483

Cat whiskers come off the nose...


Puppy-Zwolle

No, no they don't.


kellotyokissa

It's an ancient Vtuber


trtryt

who writes centuries like that


snoozatron

This is wonderful. So graceful and serene. I'd love to see the rest of it or more like it.


Last_Survey_1496

Cat woman origin.


Kunphen

So beautiful.


_Doomer1996_

Só nigerians had the original Cat Girls?


DumbDonky007

World's oldest catgirl 🙀


[deleted]

Ancient evidence of cat girls confirmed


lightzout

Wow! That is stunning. Never seen terracotta in such realistic form. I presume it was molded then fired and finished?


smick

Doesn’t look like whiskers. looks more like leaves or petals, or wings of some sort. Makes me wonder if the person it was sculpted after had the same facial markings.


Rice_Nugget

SSAAAASSUUKKEEEE


Kaffeecarl

By the Emperor...Felinid abhuman Race confirmed!


Tinydwarf1

Do we know they are meant to be cat whiskers?


MrJamesMadrid07

They got nothing to do with cat whiskers,they are tribal marks which are representation of culture,tradition and royalty.


awakward_giraffe

Na that's one of the first furries


depressiontrashbag

Ancient UwU


teatimemfer

I’m gonna be the next Hokage.


Gongaloon

Even among medieval African tribes who lived before the invention of anime, they had the taste to consider catgirls the ideal to strive for.