If Your Teeth Aren't Black, You're an Outcast (5 photos)

This tradition was common among mountain peoples, a special ritual for celebrating their coming of age. The Bulanga people of China (in Yunnan Province) live in forests and mountains and are believed to be over a thousand years old. By Chinese standards, they are a small people, numbering only 127,000.





The Bulanga consider black a symbol of beauty and strength, believing it protects against evil and disaster. And at a certain point, children must be imbued with the "power of black."



Like all mountain and forest peoples, they are quite dark. They're not like the bleached Shanghainese.

How the Blackening Ceremony Takes Place

At the age of 14 or 15, boys and girls undergo the ranchi rite, during which they stain each other's teeth. Usually, girls stain boys' teeth and vice versa, a kind of flirtatious gesture. Then, the boys are given a long knife, a bag, and a blanket, while the girls are given new clothes, a stool, and a bamboo basket.





Woman blackening her teeth with her finger

This isn't the most gentle ritual; the blackness isn't due to soot. The process involves using sour fruits or directly applying acidic juice to the teeth to slightly etch away the enamel. Only then are the teeth stained with charcoal or pine resin. Some also chew betel nuts mixed with tobacco and lime. As you can imagine, this doesn't wash off, but rather penetrates the tooth color due to the acid. In some areas of Yunnan Province, you can still see elderly people with blackened teeth—a living reminder of this disappearing custom.



See those growths on the teeth? That's black resin.

The Bulang themselves say that natural materials strengthen teeth and improve digestion. They even say it's healthy. If you refuse to blacken your teeth, the locals will look askance. Besides blackened teeth, tattoos are considered a symbol of adulthood and masculinity. Boys begin getting tattoos of animals, magical symbols, and fish scales from a young age. A couple also has a second wedding after their first child is born. After all, only then are they truly considered married, and not just these jokes you're telling everyone.



The journalist took a portrait photo of the black-toothed women in Vietnam.