www.womanthismonth.com 31 September 2015 MURSI TRIBE Perhaps the most famous of the tribes thanks to the tradition among the women of inserting a plate into their bottom lips, the Mursi have featured in a television programme for the UK’s BBC and are very popular with visitors, despite being armed the hilt, often unfriendly and having a reputation for aggression and even, it’s claimed, going so far as to kill and eat their enemies – hence the need for an armed guard! Fascinating to look at the Mursi adorn themselves with bright paints and elaborate headdresses made of bone and woven leather. Before the lip plates, young women start by putting small and then progressively larger plates in their ears to stretch their earlobes. As they reach their mid-teens, the lip plate is inserted and, though it is seen as a status symbol, the wearers have no bottom teeth and must live on a diet of mushy food. The Mursi are a traditionally pastoral people for whom their livestock are extremely important to the point that calves will often be kept inside the family hut to protect them. Cattle are not just valuable possessions but are also commonly used to pay the bride price in a tribal marriage. 8
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