article_snippet: But with  younger people increasingly reluctant to be inked for fear of ridicule and for fear of the heavy fines imposed by the ruling military junta, Burma's tattooing tradition is on borrowed time and could disappear within a generation.
article_snippet: Fines: the ruling military junta has done the ruling military junta best to eradicate Burma's tattooing tradition and levies a hefty fine of half a cow on anyone who gets one .
article_snippet: Now, however, the tables have been turned on the tribesmen, with the brutal military junta that dominated the country until 2011 declaring the tattoos illegal and imposing harsh fines on anyone to break the rules.
article_snippet: Although the country is currently undergoing a political renewal under current president, Thein Sein, the fines remain in place - and as a result, fewer and fewer women are getting the tattoos.
article_snippet: But, as with their tattoos, the future looks uncertain for the Chin and other Burmese tribes, whose traditions are beginning to be eroded by incomers - not least in the non-Chin teachers who teach the children different traditions and a different language.
highlights_snippet: Tattoo culture is under threat after being banned by Burma's military junta and punished with huge fines .
  