The Modern Primitive movement involves people in developed nations adopting rituals and body modifications from less developed cultures. Some criticize it as cultural appropriation, while others argue it promotes understanding and preservation of traditions.
Modern Primitives are people who live in developed nations and engage in rituals borrowed from cultures in less developed or “primitive” regions of the world. Many modern Primitives focus specifically on tribal rites of passage and rituals, emphasizing the simplicity and perceived purity of tribal societies. The Modern Primitive movement, as it is known, dates back to the late 1970s when the concept of Modern Primitive was first outlined and explored by Fakir Musafar, a man widely considered to be the father of the Modern Primitive movement.
Many people in the Primitive Modern movement sport an assortment of body modifications that are connected to tribal societies, ranging from tattooed marks with specific symbolic meanings to lip plates. Heavy body modification is not unusual in the Primitive Modern movement. Modern Primitives may also participate in specific rituals that ape those of the primitive cultures they admire, such as ritual suspension, temporary piercing, or spirit seeking.
Some people criticize Primitive Moderns, arguing that people in this movement are engaging in crass acts of cultural appropriation that border on the offensive. For example, the rites of passage performed in many tribal societies are intensely meaningful to people raised in those societies, and subversion of these rites by people who do not understand the cultural context could be viewed as cultural theft. Modern Primitives are also sometimes accused of picking and choosing the aspects of primitive culture they wish to embrace, suggesting a lack of respect and understanding.
The concept also plays into the idea of the “noble savage,” a concept that came up again and again in the 18th century when Europeans idolized the indigenous cultures they subjugated. The noble savages were seen as members of a purer and more natural form of civilization that had not been tainted by modern society. People of primitive cultures were idealized and romanticized in art, literature and music, and some were even brought to Europe to be shown as animals.
Members of the Modern Primitive movement feel they get in touch with their own identity by exploring the rites, rituals and beliefs of other cultures. By adopting primitive traditions, Primitive Modern members argue, they are also preserving these traditions and exposing them to a wider audience, which could facilitate a deeper understanding and respect for other cultures.
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