Nilo-Saharan linguistic Group, agro-pastoralist, originally from the larger Surma group, the Mursi are people who moved east from the surmic nucleus and occupied the land between the Omo and Mago rivers.
Neighbored by the Surma to the west, the Ari and Mount Mago to the east, the Kwegu and Karo to the south and the Bodi to the north, the Mursi are about 6000 in number.
The lip plates of Mursi Women
A new sect of people from Europe and other parts of the world who pierce their lips and other parts of their boy in aspiration to be like some tribes in the wilderness of Africa and increased sexual stimulation are coming in to the scene.
Apart from this new trend in the modern society, there are very few groups of societies in the world whose women wear labial and lobular plates. The Mursi and the Surma, who live in the lower Omo valley region of Ethiopia, are the most typical ones.
The plates, made from red or black mud or wood, are produced into different sizes by the Mursi/Surma women themselves. The shape varies from circular to trapezoidal, some of them being hollow-centered, and with decorative incisions.
