Ethiopia, Southwest Ethiopia, Omo River. A Mursi woman wearing a large clay lip plate. Shortly before marriage, a girl's lower lip will be pierced and progressively stretched over a year or so. The size of the lip plate often determines the quantum of the bride price. Each woman makes her own according to the size she wants and may add ochre or charcoal dust into the clay for colour before firing it. When the plate is not worn, a long loop of wrinkled skin hangs down unattractively over the woman's chin. The reason for this singular practice is not fully understood but Mursi women will claim that it enhances their beauty. They also pierce and elongate their earlobes. Many women style their hair in interesting designs; they still dress in skins, attractively decorated with thin stripes, and numerous brass and heavy metal bracelets. The Mursi speak a Nilotic language and have affinities with the Shilluk and Anuak of eastern Sudan. They live in a remote area of southwest Ethiopia along the Omo River, the country's largest river, which flows over 600 miles before discharging its waters into Lake Turkana. Agriculture provides the basis of their livelihood with two crops possible a year.The culture, social organisation, customs and values of the people have changed little.
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