I rember when I was 10 years old my dad took me to a science convention. I went to all the talks and exibits with him. I rember sitting at a table with an African woman and her daughter. They were Zulu. The girl was my age. I keep staring at her and her mother. They both had big round disks in there ears. Finally the daughter Zara asked me why I was looking at them so much. I asked do they hurt. She took one out and asked me to look at her ears. I was told it was a custom of theres to pierce and stretch there lobes. She said the practice was dieing out but some women still do it. The disks were light and painted by hand. Here I am with my double pierced ears . My two hoops were nothing compaired to her ears We spent the rest of the convention talking to each other.Never got her address.
Fast forward to today. Houston just had an oil conference in town. I work at a Western retail store. A black woman about my age walked in with her daughter. Both with big disk in there ears. The daughter about 10 years old. I walked up to them to ask if I could help them. The mother stared at me then gave me a big hug. It was Zara. Her ears were bigger like her mothers. "I see you have added more holes to your ears while mine got bigger" We laughed and I met her daughter. Just like her mother. Its been 20 years or more so we have some catching up to do at lunch. I am so happy she is keeping the piercing and stretching custom alive.
I was always fascinated with such customs. Body modifications have played a big part in many cultures mostly as a coming of age ritual in one form or another. Ear piercing seems to be a socially accepted ritual here :-)
