A lip plate is to the outsider more a form of body mutilation than body art but to a Mursi or Suri woman a lip plate is an expression of female maturity and a sign that she has has reached child-bearing age.

It is also a distinguishing trait that ensures she is not mistaken as a member of neighboring rival tribes who either do not pierce their lips (Kwegu tribe) or who only wear small plugs inserted into their lower lips (Bodi tribe).

Although traditional labial plates were also worn by Suya men of Brazil, Sara women of Chad, the Makonde of Mozambique and the Botocudo of coastal Brazil (quite a mouthful even without a lip plate) in previous decades, the only tribes that still follow this tradition are the Mursi and Suri tribes of Ethiopia

Close to the Sudanese border in the lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia live a nomadic tribe who number only 10,000 people known as the Mursi. They live in the most isolated area of Ehiopia being surrounded on three sides by rivers.

Until a decade ago they were a completely oral tribe as not one of the members could read or write.

This tradition is customarily performed between 6 months and a year before a young girl is to marry, usually around the age of sweet sixteen.  

During initiation rituals of young Mursi girls a small incision of between 1 and 2cm in length is made in their lower lip.  This ritual is usually performed by their mother or their kinswomen.

A wooden peg or ceramic disc is placed in the incision and this remains there for approximately 3 weeks or until the wound has healed. The peg is then replaced with a slightly larger disc thereby stretching the lip gradually. This stretching process will continue until the lip has an opening of about 4cm in diameter. At this point the first clay lip plate will be inserted.

To accommodate the lip plate at least two and sometimes four lower front teeth are extracted.

Each woman crafts her own lip plate and decorates each one with pride. The stretching process using larger and larger lip plates will continue until on average a lip plate with a diameter of about 10 to 15 cm will fit into the lower lip. There are reports of some women who boast lip plates that are 25cm in diameter, though this is not the norm. This entire stretching process usually takes a few months to complete.


Because lip plugs make talking difficult, women only wear their lip plugs in the company of men, but they remove them to eat and sleep or when they are only in the company of women.

It is Mursi tradition that young suitors must pay the father of the bride-to-be when asking for his daughter's hand in marriage. Most of the marriages are pre-arranged with the future bride having little or no say in the matter.

Although it is often said that there is a correlation between the size of a young girl's lip plate and her bridewealth this does not hold water as the price of the future bride is usually determined prior to the initiation ceremony.

It seems that the plate's size is more a case of personal preference and the wearer's ability to withstand the pain associated with the stretching of the lip.

The Mursi tribe view their bodies as living canvas and painting intricate patterns on all parts of their bodies starts at an early age.

The men paint their bodies with white chalk during dances and ceremonies. Using their fingertips as brushes the men also paint intricate patterns on each other's bodies with a thin layer of clay from the river bank.

Besides adorning themselves with these enormous lip plates the women also wear white body and face paint. They are also fond of wearing earrings made of fruit on their stretched and cut earlobes.

There are pressures from the Muslim dominated Ethiopian Government on Mursi women to give up this practice.

Another indirect pressure comes from the realization by the tribe itself that they will be excluded from social and economic benefits as long as they are perceived to be backward by outsiders. They recognize that the lip plate tradition plays an enormous role in other people's perception of their limitations and stands in the way of their future development.

Tourists on the other hand are keeping the tradition alive. They travel great distances to come and see and photograph these lip-plated women - what they presumably perceive as "freak shows".

The Mursi have however realized that they can earn a living by posing for these tourists and this in itself may be sufficient motivation for the Mursi women not to break the tradition. The lip-plate has now become an economic asset to the women and their families.

The Mursi tribe will probably eventually have to heed the Govenrment's warnings but until they do the tourists are sure to keep the tradition alive.