What is the Mursi tribe known for?
What is the Mursi tribe known for?
The Mursi Tribe, of which there are less than 10,000, are well known for the large plates the women wear in their lower lip. The custom of wearing a lip plate is linked to the female’s fertility and eligibility for marriage.
Is the Mursi tribe nomadic?
The Mursi — Nomadic Tribe.
What is the purpose of a lip plate?
According to tradition, a lip plate is evidence of each woman’s fertility and proof that she is ready for marriage. It is meant to show that a girl has reached marriageable age and is ready to become a wife. Apart from marriage, the beauty of a woman is also determined by how large her lip plate is.
What language do the Mursi speak?
Southeast Surmic language
Mursi (also Dama, Merdu, Meritu, Murzi, Murzu) is a Southeast Surmic language spoken by the Mursi people who live in the South Omo Zone on the eastern side of the lower Omo valley in southwest Ethiopia. The language is similar to Suri, another Southeast Surmic language spoken to the west of the Mursi language area.
How do Mursi people live?
During the dry season they live mainly along the banks of the Omo. When the rains come they return to the grasslands, east of the river, to live close to their cattle and enjoy the fresh milk. Life for the Mursi is often arduous and sometimes dangerous.
Which tribe is beautiful in Ethiopia?
The Mursi is one of the most attractive Ethiopian tribes. Known for their warrior and aggressive spirit.
What is the religion of the Mursi tribe?
The religion of the Mursi people is classified as Animism, although some Mursi have adopted Christianity. There is a Serving in Mission Station in the northeastern corner of Mursiland, which provides education, basic medical care and instruction in Christianity.
Why do Mursi tribe wear lip plates?
Mursi women are famous for their wooden lip plates – a symbol of beauty and identity. A girl’s lower lip is cut (sometimes by her mother) when she reaches 15 or 16, and held open by a sodden plug until it heals. Unmarried girls, especially those with large labrets, might wear them whenever they are in public.
Why do Africans put discs in their mouth?
Women of the Mursi tribe may have their lips cut at the age of 15 or 16. A small clay plate is then inserted into the lip. Through the years, larger plates are inserted into the lip causing it to stretch. It is said that the clay plates were originally used to prevent capture by slave traders.
Is Omotic an afroasiatic?
Omotic is generally considered the most divergent branch of the Afroasiatic languages. Greenberg (1963) had classified it as the Western branch of Cushitic.
Where do Mursi live in Ethiopia?
Herding the cattle during the dry season, at a place called Bulu, near the Omo. The Mursi ( Mun, sg. Muni) live in the Lower Omo Valley of southwestern Ethiopia and number less than 10,000.
What does Mursi stand for?
Mursi, or Mursu or Mun as they refer to themselves, are a Nilotic pastoralist ethnic group in Ethiopia. Their territory of around 2,000 km2 lies in the South Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS), roughly between the Rivers Omo (Warr) and Mago (Mako), close to the border with South Sudan.
Is Mursi related to Suri?
Mursi is closely related (over 80% cognate) to Me’en and Suri, as well as Kwegu. According to the 1994 national census, there were 3,163 people who were identified as Mursi in the SNNPR; 3,158 spoke Mursi as their first language, while 31 spoke it as their second language.
How do Mursi men get married?
Just like any other ethnic tribe in the lower valley, the men must pass a test before they can get married. A Mursi man is given a stick called a Donga and must face one opponent. The men then battle it out, beating each other with the sticks.
