The primary function of the tribal marks is for identification of a person's tribe, family or patrilineal heritage.Orie (2011), p. 1. Other secondary functions of the marks are symbols of beauty, Yoruba creativity and keeping mischievous children alive (ila Abiku). This practice was popular among Yoruba people of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, tribal identification and facial stripes became important. Some repatriated slaves later reunited with their communities by looking at facial stripes.Usman, A., & Falola, T. (2019). The Nineteenth Century: Wars and Transformations. In The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present (pp. 159-240). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
