Historical Research: MURSI TRIBE IN ETHIOPIA

Mursi is an ethnic group from South-west Ethiopia, located in the Debmo-Omo area, in the Region of Nations and Peoples of the South, Surrounded by mountains between the Omo River and its tributary"mago".

Many of the strong Mursi people live as nomads on the lower valley of the river Omo, around 800km from "Addis Abeba", the Ethiopian capital.

NOMADS:

Member of a group of people who moves from place to place instead of living in one place all the time.

Mursi has the custom of wearing a lip plate linked to the female's fertility and eligibility for marriage. It's one of the most subjected in their tradition. The lower lip is slit open as early as puberty and the plate, called a "dhebi", is inserted. The girl must not only make, bake and paint the dhebi, but swap it for a new one over the years, so that the mouth area grows with it.

There are many theories about the lip plate tradition....The lip plates are also called lip discs or lip plugs.

Firstly, One says that the Mursi men wanted to guard their women by making them unattractive. 

Secondly, it marks a commitment to the husband because it must be worn with great pride when serving him food. Though, If the husband dies, the lip plate is removed since a woman's external beauty is said to fade after her husband’s death.

Lastly, it's a symbol of great beauty.

As for the men, they go into ceremonious battle and must face one opponent, as their tradition. They are armed only with a two-metre long wooden stick called a Donga, duelling with men from other villages. The men then battle it out, beating each other with the sticks. The first fighter to submit loses and the winner is taken by a group of women to determine who he will marry.

One accessory makes the indigenous Mursi people stand out in the world: colourful, painted clay plate that women put into their lower lip, many as large as saucers. This cultural curiosity draws them a lot of attention.

In the history of Mursi, they are great warrior and they could only be capture trough photograph for cash exchange also the Plate-lipped women. The cash are mostly spent on liquors. They live in complete isolation from the rest of world and have killed hundreds of people who had come into their community without their permission.

Mursi has two major Religion practice_Animism(initially) and most has adopted Christianity. Their neighbors include the Aari, the Banna, the Mekan, the Karo, the Kwegu, the Nyangatom and the Suri. 

According to the census of 2007, the Mursi are a community of about 11,500 people.

Credit: SUHUFI IBRAHIM MEDIA