Historically, the first written record of nostril piercing dates back over 4,000 years ago in the Middle East. Nostril piercing is also referenced in the Bible, indicating that it was still a common practice in the Middle East nearly 2,000 years later. The book of Genesis describes Abraham’s son Isaac giving his future wife, Rebekah, a golden ‘Shanf’, which is Hebrew for ‘golden earring’ or ‘nose ring’. The practice of men gifting golden nostril rings to their future wives is one that continues to this day among the Bedouin tribes of the Middle East and Berber and Beja tribes of Africa. These treasured gifts are intended as a form of insurance that represents financial security; should a woman’s husband die or divorce her, she can sell her nose ring to provide for herself. Additionally, the size and value of a gifted nostril ring indicates how wealthy a man’s family is-or in some cases, the wealth of a woman’s family, since there are also some Middle Eastern and African tribes that include nose rings as part of daughters’ dowries.
From the Middle East, the Mughal Empire carried the practice of nostril piercing to India in the 1500s. It then became a common practice in India that persists to this day. Indian women will either pierce their left nostrils or both nostrils and wear ‘phul’ or ‘nath’ Indian women who choose to have only one nostril pierced their left nostrils. According to Ayurveda, the ancient Indian natural healing system, the left nostril associated with female reproductive organs and fertility. Ayurveda medicine asserts that piercing the left nostril relieves menstrual pain and makes child birth easier.
Nostril rings were first introduced to western civilization around 1913, when the French singer Polaire sported a left nostril piercing during a tour of the US. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that nose piercing became more widely popular in the United States. In the 60s, hippies who had traveled to India brought the practice of nostril piercing with them back to the US. Then, in the 1970s and 1980s, punk rockers and Goths adopted nose piercing as a defiant symbol of rebellion against conservative values and a physical declaration of personal independence.
Today, nose rings are a mainstream accessory in the US, Europe , and beyond. There are still plenty of conservative-minded people who frown on nose piercings, but that hasn’t hampered the trend. In addition to young people, more business professionals in a variety of industries can be seen sporting nose jewelry . Even professionals who do not know the popular accessory are becoming more accepting of the practice.
