There is a history of ritual tongue piercing in both Aztec and Maya cultures, with illustrations of priests piercing their tongue and then either drawing blood from it or passing rough cords, designed to inflict pain, through the hole.
Tongue piercings are most often pierced with Straight Barbell style jewelry. Due to the amount of action and movement that the tongue is involved with (speech, eating, kissing, oral sex, etc.), jewelry size and comfort is especially important. Barbells that are too thin are prone to migration, causing discomfort and irritation. Tounge Rings must be places vertically at the centre of the tounge to avoid damaging the nervous system and veins. There is another variant: pairs of so called “snake bite” piercings can be done on either sides of the centre of the tongue, which will make them look like snake fangs.
Tongue piercings can often be easily stretched to accommodate larger jewelry. The only thing here – stratching should be done gradually: one size in every two months is stringly recommended.