Joseph Jordania recently suggested that body painting, together with dancing, loud group singing, rhythmic stomping and drumming on external objects, was designed by the forces of natural selection as the means to reach the specific altered state of consciousness, battle trance through the ritualized activities. In this state group members were losing their individuality and were assuming a shared collective identity, where they were losing the feel of fear and pain and were fully dedicated to the group interests. This state was crucial for physical survival of the hominids in order to defend them from predators after they shifted from the relatively safe trees to more dangerous ground. As the first instances of the use of painting materials (ochre, manganese dioxide) by human ancestors predates the first cave paintings by tens or possibly hundred of thousands of the years, some scholars assume that the painting materials were used by human ancestors for painting their own bodies.
Body painting with clay and other natural pigments existed in most, if not all, tribalist cultures. Often worn during ceremonies, it still survives in this ancient form among the indigenous people of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific islands and parts of Africa. A semi-permanent form of body painting known as Mehndi, using dyes made of henna (hence also known rather erroneously as "henna tattoo"), was and is still practiced in India and the Middle East, especially on brides. Since the late 1990s, Mehndi has become popular amongst young women in the Western world.
Body painting with clay and other natural pigments existed in most, if not all, tribalist cultures. Often worn during ceremonies, it still survives in this ancient form among the indigenous people of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific islands and parts of Africa. A semi-permanent form of body painting known as Mehndi, using dyes made of henna (hence also known rather erroneously as "henna tattoo"), was and is still practiced in India and the Middle East, especially on brides. Since the late 1990s, Mehndi has become popular amongst young women in the Western world.
