Ekeomah Atuonwu
Africans have utilized a variety of body alterations for millennia; some of these modifications have been lost to history or have disappeared entirely, while others are still relevant today.
Those that practice these alterations perceive them as a component of beauty, despite the fact that many may view them as a sort of physical distortion.
The girl decides how far to stretch it, and she is free to do so over time. As a result, bigger plates are kept in place until the lip can support a disc with a diameter of 12 cm.
A controversial belief about how lip plating became a thing is that the people of the community started this practice so that the women of the tribe may look ugly to foreigners who came into the land. The use of these lip plates has been associated with additional meanings and myths.
Many believe that its wear symbolizes a young’s girl transition into womanhood. Others believe that wearing lip plates is a sign of a woman’s self-esteem and worth; the wider the lip plates, the more the bride price is received by the family.
Today, only a particular tribe in Ethiopia still practices this tradition; they are known as the Mursi tribe.
Due to the fact that photographers from all over the world travel to Ethiopia to photograph the Mursi tribe, they have become a well-known tourist attraction.
They are locals of Ethiopia’s remote Omo Valley. One of the remaining tribes to continue wearing traditional attire is this one.
The wooden lip plates worn by Mursi women are well-known as a beauty and identification symbol.
Compared to older married women with children, young married women and unmarried girls are more likely to use lip plates. They are typically worn during significant rites like marriages, offering men meals, and milking cows.
Unmarried girls, especially those with large labrets, might wear them whenever they are in public. It’s expected that a boyfriend or husband will not sleep with his girlfriend or his bride until her lip has fully healed. However, modern men are increasingly sleeping with their love interests even before they have pierced their lips.
When a girl reaches the age of 15 or 16, her lower lip is sliced (sometimes by her mother) and kept open by a wet plug while it heals. The extent to which the lip should be stretched is entirely up to the girls. Frequently, the excruciating procedure lasts for several months.
Compared to older married women with children, young married women and unmarried girls are more likely to use lip plates. They are typically worn during significant rites like marriages, offering men meals, and milking cows.
The lip plate carries a number of meanings. Firstly, it’s a symbol of great beauty. Secondly, it marks a commitment to the husband because it is worn with great pride when serving him food. If the husband dies, the lip plate is removed since a woman’s external beauty is said to fade after his death. Lastly, the plate is a powerful visual marker of Mursi identity. Without it, they run the risk of being mistaken for a member of another tribe.
The men do not wear such, but they have body paintings. Each scar on a man tells a story, that he has fought and killed an enemy.
With all that is happening in the world, there are some who still value their traditions religiously.
