The surma and the Mursi are part of the that small remaining group
of peoples any where in the world whose women still wear lip plates
- and, once again, these have a function that is almost purely
symbolic. There are several theories as to why the use of lip plates
was first adopted: Perhaps to discourage slavers looking for
unblemished girls, or perhaps to prevent evil from entering the body
by way of the mouth (since these people believe that evil penetrates
the body through its orifices); or to indicate the number of cattle
required by the wearers family for her hand in marriage.
Today it is the third of these theories that is the once seen in
practical use. In her early twenties a woman’s lower lip will be
pierced and then progressively stretched over the period of a year –
the size of the lip plate determining the size of the bride price.
A large lip plate will bring fifty heads of cattle. A heavy iron
puberty apron and many armlets will like wise help to increase the
young woman’s appeal.
Between the ages of twenty and twenty five, a lip plate is inserted
into a women’s lower lip. The process begins six months prior to
marriage with the piercing of the lower lip. Successive stretching
is achieved by placing increasingly larger plates into the pierced
lip. The final size of the plate is an indication of the number of
cattle required by the girl’s family for her hand in marriage. Women
make their own lip plates from locally dug clay, color them with
ochre and charcoal, and bake them in a fire.
After six months of stretching, the lip is so elastic that a plate
can be slipped in and out without difficulty. The plates must always
be worn in front of men and can only be taken out at private meal
times. When sleeping or in the presence of other women. In the past
plates were wedge-shaped and made of a balsa wood. More recently
these have been replaced by round clay plates. Unlike lip plates,
clay ear plugs are worn by both young girls and women for decoration
alone.
It would be wrong to suggest that all forms of decoration are
symbolic, however, purely aesthetic considerations, too, are to be
seen at work in the lower Omo notably among the Surma and the Karo.
The best artists are generally male and they paint not just each
other but also the women and children of the tribe using local chalk
mixed with water, they create many and varied patterns including
swirls, stripes, flower and star designs- all of which are enjoyed
solely for their beauty. This activity is one of the main forms of
artistic expression available to the Surma and the Karo creatively
at work. The painter reveals himself as an artist, and the human
form- viewed as a living sculpture and as a vehicle for the
imagination- becomes itself a work of art.
The innocent enthusiasm that body paintings generates, the
inspiration that it expresses, and the close social bonds that it
reaffirms all suggest that the lower Omo is a place of joy and hope
as well as of intertribal competition and war, a place in which
mankind is still capable of appreciating simple pleasures still
filled with laughter, and still unashamedly amazed at the winders
that the world has to offer.
Bumi men decorated their faces with scarified designs to establish
tribal identity and to enhance their physical appearance like the
Hamar, they wear elaborate clay hair buns, symbolic of bravery and
courage. (Tour itinerary)
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