Tribal or Cultural Face Painting has been used for many motives. For hunting, religious reasons, and military reasons (mainly as a method of camouflaging) or to scare ones enemy. Several of the Indians' fighting techniques were calculated to strike terror. Some warriors entered battle naked except for a loin cloth, but their bodies were streaked in bizarre examples in red and black paint. Decorating one's face in various patterns and shapes has been a part of the cultural make-up of many societies since the beginning of time. Face painting is a common theme across cultures as divergent as the Red Indians in North America and varioustribes in Africa and South America. In Native American Tribes, Face Painting has been used for artistic expression since ancient times. The art of transforming ourselves with make-up and masks is a universal phenomenon. Before we sought to vent our artistic impulse on a cave wall, we painted on our faces and bodies. Indians of the Amazon have said that in this power to change ourselves, we demonstrate our humanity and set ourselves apart from the world of the animals.

Patterns developed over time to signify a variety of cultural events and these, conveyed an emotional meaning that was attached to them. The wide range of patterns that a face painter can create, enhance the emotions and meaning of the cultural events. The patterns can be color specific or randomly geometric seemingly without any significance. The shapes and colors convey a strong bond and meaning amongst people who have a face painting tradition. They are a connection to their past and carry a very strong cultural meaning in their lives.

The reason tribes use face art to transform themselves may be varied. Sometimes they choose to do so as a part of a tribal ritual or at other times they do so to mark their status (as is the case with some aboriginal tribes), but the colorful and dynamic language of the face painting remains the same.

Raw materials used for Tribal Face Painting
African Face Painting Tribal Societies, who still follow the ancient custom of face painting, choose the colors according to the available raw materials. In ancient times, only primary and locally available colors like red, blue, yellow or white were used. Sometimes by sprinkling dust or soft bird feathers, special effects were achieved. Nowadays most tribesmen choose to use branded face paints. Painting a face is an art, perhaps the very first art, going back to the origins of human culture. Artists paint bold, mask-like designs inspired by imagery from Nature, imagination, and traditional masks. Unlike dance and music where the most charming modes and sweetest strains disappear before they are understood, painting captures the emotions and expressions and retains the impact for a long period. Painting is essentially a combination of lines, forms, colors, tones, texture and space. It attempts to convey the spoken and unspoken expressions with the strokes of a brush.

Face painting is considered to be an important tradition among Native Americans. It is much more than just a beautifying practice. It’s a sacred social act of distinction and a cultural heritage. On special occasions faces of the tribe members are painted to augment one’s appearance and power. Each tribe of the Indians has its own and unique way of face painting. For Native Americans Indians, roots, berries and tree barks are most commonly used to make the dyes for face painting. These natural raw materials are ground and made to a paste to make the dye. Clay of different hues is also used in Native Indian face painting. These wonderful colors along with the ideal face painting designs do create a desired effect. The process envolved a strict ritualistic order, that is maintained during the application of these colors. The colors are first applied around the nose and only the index finger and middle finger is used for the application. The rest of the face i.e. the forehead, chin and eye areas are then carefully covered with paint. For some face paintings they would cover their face and then plaster it down with mud leaving the holes for the eyes and mouth. Generally the warriors would paint their faces with colored clay. They would then do the design of their tribe. Each tribe has its own designs for war and ceremonies. After warriors came home from a hunt, they would have a big feast, cutting up the animal they hunted and killed. They would play a lot of games, containing parts of the animal they killed. The Indians would use every part of the animal they killed.

The Plains Indians used paints to adorn themselves, their clothing, their homes and their horses. Though their culture lacked a written languages, the pictures and symbols they drew were rich in meaning and told the stories of the people. Many different colors of paint were used, originally made with the materials at hand — plants, clays, even duck dung. Reds were by far the most popular color, but early natives used brown, red, yellow, black, blue, green and white as well. With the availability of pigments from white traders, 19th century Indians used other colors as well. A yellow paint was made from earth from the Yellowstone River, as well as from bull berries and pine tree moss. Blue was obtained from duck droppings found on the shores of lakes, or from blue-colored mud. White earth and clay were used to make white paint. Green was made from plants, copper ore or mud. The pigments were placed over a fire to dry, then ground into a fine powder on mortars of stone or wood. They were then mixed with tallow. The colors, kept separate in small buckskin bags, were mixed with hot water when the artist was ready for them.

Indian artists painted with straight willow branches (which acted as rulers to draw straight lines) along with short, flat sticks that he or she used to trace a pattern onto a hide. Brushes were made from chewed cottonwood or willow sticks, or from buffalo bone. Each color had its own brush.

Significance of the Colors
Ethnic Face Painting Colors in Native American culture have special significance. Red is a violent color; it is the color of war. Strangely enough black, which is considered to be an inauspicious colors in most cultures, is the color of ‘living’, worn on the face during war preparations. White predictably is the color of peace. The color green when worn under the eyes is believed to empower the wearer with a night vision. Yellow is the most inauspicious color, it is the color of death, as it is the color of "old bones." Care should be taken not to wear a lot of yellow, and is worn only when a person is in mourning. Also yellow, means a man has lived his life and will fight to the finish. Each Indian tribe has its own and unique way of face painting. Face paintings can be the lightest streak of color on the face. It can also mean covering their faces completely.

19th Century Seminoles
While early 19th century Seminoles would paint their face and hands for special occasions, this practice was no longer done in public by the late 19th century. It was done on special occasions only, to augment one's appearance and power. All face painting should be done sparingly, and with high regard for the occasion. It might not be out of place at a battle re-enactment or for a serious ceremony, but would be entirely inappropriate for an encampment or for a casual demonstration. A reenactor would be misplaced if he painted himself while he lounged around camp, or while stomp dancing in any except a Green Corn Dance. It would be a big mistake to put on face painting without having a genuine reason or need. Face paint was a way the Seminole drew upon the natural powers in his world to add to his own. A rough parallel might be the personal strength many Christians find in a crucifix hung from their neck.

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