Indigenous Tradition: Traditional Mursi Lip Plates (Ethiopia, Africa)

Marks of Status, Belonging, and Initiation: Traditional Mursi Lip Plates (Ethiopia, Africa)
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Traditional Mursi Lip Plates
Several unique cultural practices define different themes of indigenous traditions. One of these is the mark of status, belonging, and initiation that was done and still is done by the Mursi women. The Mursi tribe is found in Ethiopia, Africa, in an isolated Omo valley. The tribe is among the last indigenous tribes that have maintained their clothing and traditional cultural accessories. The lip plate is probably the most awkward thing that exists. When a young girl attains the age of fifteen or sixteen, her lower lip is cut by an older woman (could be her mother) and kept open using a round plug until it heals (ICDO, 2019). As imagined, it is a severely painful process that takes several months to heal.
The lip plates indicate cultur...