Body art: branding

Branding is the process that consist in pressing a hot item, a piece of metal with particular shape, into the flesh so that it makes a serious burn and then a permanent scar.

The origin of branding is dued to the ancient habit of marking animals and slaves to demonstrate their submission or being somebody’s property during Egiptians and Romans Ages.

In other countries, such as France and England, branding was used for marking heretics and criminals until the end of the XVIII century.

Branding was then recovered in United States during the XX century by university brotherhoods, especially the ones with black predominance, to show the belonging to those. Still now sport champions like Michael Jordan and Emmith Smith have the greek letter of the brotherhoods indelebly marked into their skin.

In recent years, however, branding has been used in ornamental way, but even in the libertine Netherland this practice is still forbidden. Because of this branding is not yet widely widespread but surely growing.