Introduction
The Suri tribe of the upper Omo River valley are regarded as one of the most primitive tribes in Ethiopia. Their archaic traditions have drawn the attention of tourists across the world. One of these traditions is the Lip Plate Culture.
What is the Lip Plate Culture?
It is a form of body modification whereby the lower lip of teenage girls is pierced in a gradual process to occupy a plate often made of clay or wood. The lip plate is often decorated with patterns and paints from local resources. The plate ranges in sizes from seven centimeters to as long as twelve centimeters.
The Process
When a Suri girl reaches puberty (age 14-15), her mother will pierce her lower lip and insert a small wooden stick. Larger sticks are inserted into the pierced hole to stretch the lip every night.
Gradually, small lip plates are inserted into the lip until it becomes fully stretched to accommodate bigger lip plates. When she turns fourteen, a Suri girl has four lower teeth removed so the lip plate can stay on her lower lip.
Initially, the process is painful and difficult for the young girls. Once the lip gets fully stretched, it becomes less painful for a Suri girl to put her lip plate on.
The Significance of the Lip Culture
- A Symbol of Pride and Beauty
A Suri woman with a lip plate is regarded as beautiful and she is highly regarded in the community. The bigger the lip plate, the more respect she stands to gain in her tribe. This respect extends to her family; particularly her father and husband. According to the Library of Congress, the custom of wearing lip plates is a source of pride and identity for the women who choose to wear them.
- A Bargaining right for Dowry
Lip plates increase the chances for a better dowry price for Suri women. The bigger the lip plate of a woman, the larger the amount of cows her family is entitled to collect for her dowry. Suri women are often encouraged to stretch their lips so they can get more cows for their dowry.
As a sign of respect and honour for the dowry paid to them, Suri women wear their lip plates while serving their husbands food or during celebrations and ceremonies.
- A Symbol of Identity
The lip plate distinguishes the Suri and Mursi women from other neighboring tribes like the Karo women who don’t participate in the lip plate culture. It also gives the Suri women a sense of belonging to their home and community.
The Mursi Research Center, a non-governmental organization for the preservation of the Mursi tribe culture, believes that the lip plate culture is an integral part of the Mursi identity.
- To Scare Off Slave Traders
There is a common misconception that the Suri women wear lip plates to scare off slave traders during the 19th-20th century. The magazine, National Geographic propagated that the lip plates resulted from the desire to ‘uglify oneself in order to discourage slave hunters’.
However, the Suri people feel differently about this. They see the lip plate culture as a beautiful tradition and consider their women more beautiful with their lip plates on.
Conclusion
In recent times, most teenage Suri girls are reluctant to wear the lip plate due to influence from the outside world. Contrary to its past nature, the lip plate culture is now a choice for the younger generation and many of them are choosing to boycott the tradition. In addition, the Ethiopian government is taking action to stop the lip plate culture as it can lead to infections. It sought to replace the tradition by placing the plates in the ear lobes. As globalization and government laws press on, the lip plate culture is bound to go extinct. According to Funtime Magazine, the predominance of these lip plates might be waning but it is not completely eliminated.
