LifePhotographer documents disappearing face tattoos of Myanmar's Chin women
Traditional practice is often misunderstood by Western observers who regard them as ugly
A Laytu Chin woman in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state: German photographer Jens Uwe Parkitny has been documenting the facial tattoos of ethnic Chin women since 2001. (Photo by Jens Uwe Parkitny)
TOM VATER, Contributing writer
BANGKOK --- The woman's eyes are closed. She looks content, perhaps there is a hint of a smile playing around her lips. There is a blue circle with a cross in its center on her forehead from which strong dark lines emanate across her entire face, including her eyelids, like a rising sun.