Meet the Mursi Tribe: Ethiopian Holiday

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Mursi people are an ethnic group who are found in Southwestern Ethiopia near the South Sudan border. They live in one of the most isolated regions between the Omo River and its tributary the Mago surrounded by mountains. They speak Mursi languages from Surmic language family. Though some of the Mursi people have adopted Christianity most of them still follow Animism.

The tribe is popular for their unusual tradition of wearing lip plates by women and donga performed by men to prove themselves. The lip plates are connected with the female’s fertility and eligibility for marriage. The unmarried girls after reaching puberty have to have their lower lip cut by a female member of the tribe, at first small wooden stick is inserted which is increased day by day and slowly the lip cut stretches and the lip plate could be fitted easily in the lip. Some tribal women wear lip plates up to the size of 12 centimeters in diameter.
A woman who does not wear this ornament is considered lazy according to their tradition. Usually, lip plates are worn by single and newly married women which are considered essential on occasions like weddings, donga dueling competitions, ceremonial dances, and serving food to men. Though age passes women may reduce wearing lip plates and have to stop wearing them if her husband passes away. Many modern-day tribe women have stopped wearing these lip plates but it is considered as their identity and makes them different from other tribes. It also attracts tourists who come and photograph the girls wearing lip plates.

Talking about Mursi men, have to take part in ceremonial dueling which is an important ceremony for men to choose a wife. The kit they wear is called umoga and includes shin guards made from animal skin, cotton, and cattle bells. The men are fully prepared where they wear leopard skin over the torso, headgear which is usually made from cotton to provide protection to the head, and a cattle bell tied around the waist. They also take wooden sticks about 2 meters in length for the dual which continues until one is knocked out or retires.

The painted bodies also take the attention of the tourists. They usually paint their bodies which are treated as their tradition to keep the evil spirits off. These paste also protect their skin from Ethiopian heat and if the pigment is mixed with limestone ash and cattle urine, it acts as a mosquito repellent. The body paints are done by men on each other without access to the mirror.
The cattle are also a symbol of their wealth alongside providing milk and meat. They also exchange cattle for grain during drought or low rainfall when there is a low crop. Overall, every tradition is great and it must be protected so that the future generation can know about them.

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