Tanari Tribe
Female:
When a girl is eight years old, she goes through her naming ritual, where her birth name becomes her middle name, and she gets a significant first name. At this time, she gets her first marks, two white dots, one underneath the corner, and one under the center, of each eye.
At her coming of age ceremony, at age seventeen, she gets two more marks, red curved tapering lines that stretch from the bridge of her nose to her ears.
Upon her marriage, she receives a single white stripe from the bottom of her lower lip to the bottom of her chin. If she is then widowed, two removable white lines curving around her chin are given to her, which will then be removed if she remarries. If she divorces, however, then her mark of marriage will be turned to blue and she will not be able to marry again.
Earrings also have a special significance in the Tanari tribe. When a married woman has children, she gets an earring for each of the children she has. If one of these dies, one of the earrings are removed.
Male:
When a boy is eight years old, he goes through is naming ritual. During this process, he gets his first mark, a single white stripe from his hairline to the tip of his nose.
As he comes of age at eighteen he receives two red marks, underneath the inside corner of each of his eyes.
At his marriage, he gets a white stripe down his chin, the same as a woman gets. However, when he is widowed, the two white lines that he is given run underneath his bottom lip, instead of around the chin. If he divorces, his mark of marriage will be turned to blue and he will not be allowed to marry again.
Tenzhi Tribe
The Tenzhi tribe is very similar to the Tanari tribe in markings as they originated from the same family group, except that when a man or woman is divorced, the mark of marriage is turned to black instead of blue.
Female:
When a girl is eight years old, she goes through her naming ritual, where her birth name becomes her middle name, and she gets a significant first name. At this time, she gets her first marks, two white dots, one underneath the corner, and one under the center, of each eye.
At her coming of age ceremony, at age seventeen, she gets two more marks, red curved tapering lines that stretch from the bridge of her nose to her ears.
Upon her marriage, she receives a single white stripe from the bottom of her lower lip to the bottom of her chin. If she is then widowed, two removable white lines curving around her chin are given to her, which will then be removed if she remarries. If she divorces, however, then her mark of marriage will be turned to blue and she will not be able to marry again.
Earrings also have a special significance in the Tanari tribe. When a married woman has children, she gets an earring for each of the children she has. If one of these dies, one of the earrings are removed.
Male:
When a boy is eight years old, he goes through is naming ritual. During this process, he gets his first mark, a single white stripe from his hairline to the tip of his nose.
As he comes of age at eighteen he receives two red marks, underneath the inside corner of each of his eyes.
At his marriage, he gets a white stripe down his chin, the same as a woman gets. However, when he is widowed, the two white lines that he is given run underneath his bottom lip, instead of around the chin. If he divorces, his mark of marriage will be turned to blue and he will not be allowed to marry again.
Tenzhi Tribe
The Tenzhi tribe is very similar to the Tanari tribe in markings as they originated from the same family group, except that when a man or woman is divorced, the mark of marriage is turned to black instead of blue.