***It is to be noted that while ‘cuttings’ are qualified by the phrase ‘for the dead’***
Cutting one’s flesh was often done to mourn for the dead in various cultures..
The American Indian often cut themselves to mourn for the dead even to the point of cutting off fingers.
Charlie Russell did a painting of this entitled “Her heart is on the ground”, while Andrew Garcia told how his Indian woman cut herself to mourn, some of the slices being a half inch deep.
I`m sure somewhere there is a tatted person (or maybe even two, or three) of conservative tendencies who`s wondering right now if 6% voter turnout for registered Republicans (my district) wasn`t low enough for y`all the last presidential election.
5 years of hate. 6 months of begging. 6 months of blaming. Repeat.