TERA Gallery - African Art and Antiquities

"Altering The Way You View The World Of Art"
Type of Object:
    Mursi Lip Plates

    These lip plates were acquired from the Mursi tribe
    where lips plates (dhebi a tugoin) are worn by the
    women as a symbol of beauty.  

    A girl’s lower lip is cut, by her mother or by another
    woman of her settlement, when she reaches the age
    of 15 or 16. The cut is held open by a wooden plug
    until the wound heals. It appears to be up to the
    individual girl to decide how far to stretch the lip, by
    inserting progressively larger plugs over a period of
    several months. Two or  four lower front teeth will be
    removed to accommodate the lip plate and to allow
    the girl to speak clearly when wearing the plate.  
    Some, but by no means all, girls persevere until their
    lips can take plates of 12 centimetres or more in
    diameter

    The Mursi, Chai and Tirma are probably the last
    groups in Africa amongst whom it is still the norm for
    women to wear the large pottery or wooden discs.

Ethnic Group:
    Mursi Society
    Chai Society
    Tirma Society

Country of Origin:  
    Ethiopia

Material:   
    Terracotta

Dimensions:
    4-" to 12" diameter

Reference: