Who Are the Mursi?
The Mursi are an agro-pastoralist people living in the Lower Omo Valley of southwestern Ethiopia, near the borders with South Sudan and Kenya. Numbering around 10,000, they are best known internationally for the clay lip plates worn by women—a tradition they share with few other groups worldwide. The Mursi maintain a way of life shaped by the seasonal flooding of the Omo River, cattle herding, and elaborate body decoration traditions.
Lip Plates: Beauty and Identity
The Mursi lip plate (dhebi a tugoin) is inserted after a girl's lower lip is cut and stretched, typically around age 15-16. Over months, progressively larger clay discs stretch the lip until plates up to 12 centimeters can be worn. Women craft their own plates, decorating them with carved designs. While outsiders often interpret lip plates as symbols of oppression, Mursi women describe them as expressions of beauty, maturity, and cultural identity. The practice is increasingly optional, with some young women choosing not to cut their lips.
Body Painting and Scarification
The Mursi practice elaborate body decoration extending far beyond lip plates. Both men and women paint their bodies with white chalk and colored mineral pigments in creative patterns for ceremonies and daily beautification. Scarification—deliberately cutting skin to create raised patterns—marks achievements and beauty. Men receive scars for killing enemies or dangerous animals; women's scars enhance attractiveness. Ear stretching with plugs parallels lip stretching. These practices express creativity, identity, and cultural values within Mursi aesthetic systems.
Donga: Ceremonial Stick Fighting
Donga is a form of ceremonial stick fighting performed by young Mursi men, particularly during harvest season. Combatants fight with two-meter wooden poles, aiming to knock opponents down while demonstrating courage and skill. Winners gain prestige and attract marriage partners. Though violent—participants are sometimes killed—donga serves important social functions: it channels young male aggression, builds reputations, and entertains communities. Elaborate body painting and decoration accompany donga events, making them major social and aesthetic occasions.
Threats to Mursi Lands
The Mursi face existential threats from Ethiopian government development projects. The Gibe III Dam on the Omo River, completed in 2015, disrupted flood cycles essential for Mursi agriculture. Government villagization programs pressure the Mursi to abandon semi-nomadic pastoralism for settled farming. Tourism, while providing income, raises concerns about dignity and cultural commodification—photographers pay to photograph lip plates, potentially reducing sacred traditions to spectacle. The Mursi resist these pressures while adapting to unavoidable changes.
References
- Turton, D. (2004). Lip-plates and 'The People Who Take Photographs': Uneasy Encounters Between Mursi and Tourists in Southern Ethiopia
- LaTosky, S. (2006). Reflections on the Lip-plates of Mursi Women as a Source of Stigma and Self-esteem
- Fayers-Kerr, K. (2016). Gibe III Dam and Its Impact on Mursi Livelihoods