Nigeria— Tattoo scenes & cities

In Nigeria, before colonisation, scarification and tattooing were known in many kingdoms and city states. Among the Yoruba, the marks, called kolo, mainly signified belonging, often made in childhood; in the 19th century they helped establish a Yoruba identity. Designs varied with class, age, gender and fashion.

Among the Igbo, ichi was male facial scarification, cut on the forehead and temples in lines resembling rays, a sign of entry into the elite. Itinerant cutters, the Umudioka, performed it, often at the request of fathers. It ended in the 1930s, under missionary pressure. Uli, for its part, was female body painting.