Tongue Rings, A History.

In the last two decades, there has been a great resurgence of popularity of body jewelry.  People, especially in Western cultures, are becoming more and more interested in this trend.  One can find body jewelry in all aspects of media and on many well known celebrities.  The most popular piercings are likely the navel and tongue piercings.  In reality, body jewelry is not at all a "new" trend.  Body piecings have been a away to express oneself or identify oneself for thousands of years.

Historically, the Aztecs, the Haida, Kwkiutul, Mayas of Central America and the Tlinglit tribes in the American Northwest had customs of body piercing.  It was often used as a form of self sacrifice or for religious reasons in these cultures.  Tongue rings were thought to be especially holy during these times because it was a way to draw blood to please the deities.  Additionally, during the piercing process, a shaman, or priest, would be in an altered state of conciousness to allow him to more easily communicate with spirits. 

Because of the amount of bleeding, Native American tribes viewed tongue piercings and other body piercings as a way to bring people close to their gods.  Aztec and Mayan tribes reportedly pierced their septum, a part of the nose, to appear fierce and intimidating to their enemies.  Without the option of stainless steel, they used bones, tusks and feathers as their body jewelry.

Now, body jewelry is used mainly for decortation rather than self sacrifice or religion.  They are a means of self expression and personal decoration.  The jewelry used is typically made from surgical steel and while it is often referred to as a tongue “ring,” it does not resemble the circular shape that it might imply.  In reality, it is a straight or curved barbell with a ball screwed to each end.  The ball on the bottom is often much smaller and used only to prevent the barbell from slipping out.  The ball on the top is used for decoration and expression.

Tongue piercings are often done with a longer barbell to allow for swelling during healing.  After the tongue is fully healed, many wearers switch to a smaller ring for everyday wear.