In Photos: Matriarchal Facial Tattoos

When there is too much beauty in the heart, it spills outward: in kind eyes and a smile, in a show of tradition or companionship – or in ink. Blue and faded, the Arab women embrace rural facial tattoos as a symbol of faith in all its forms. From sigils on the forehead and warded ill-will, to beatific religious dotting and astrological motifs, palm leaves are used to ink into skin and produce a vision for the “a waning matriarchy” that once flourished in the region.

These are some women who wear their hearts in ink.