Shocking Africa is a photograph by Liudmila Di which was uploaded on February 20th, 2013.
Title
Shocking Africa
Artist
Liudmila Di
Medium
Photograph
Description
Woman and her baby from Mursi tribe, Ethiopia..
FEATURED: ARTISTS NEWS 1 Daily group, 03/18/2013
FEATURED: AAA - All About Africa - 3 per day group, 03/12/2013
FEATURED: M O U S E group, 03/04/2013
FEATURED: All Types Of Women group, 02/20/2013
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From Wikipedia:
The Mursi (or Mun as they refer to themselves) are ethnic group that inhabits southwestern Ethiopia. They reside in the Debub Omo Zone close to the border with South Sudan. According to the 2007 national census, there are 7,500 Mursi, 448 of whom live in urban areas.
Lip plates are a well known aspect of Mursi people, who are probably the last group in Africa amongst whom it is still the norm for women to wear large discs or "plates" in their lower lips.
The lip plate, also known as a lip plug or lip disc, is a form of body modification. Increasingly larger discs (usually circular, and made from clay or wood) are inserted into a pierced hole in either the upper or lower lip, or both, thereby stretching it.
In Africa, a lower lip plate is usually combined with the excision of the two lower front teeth, sometimes all four. In many older sources it is reported that the plate's size is a sign of social or economical importance in some tribes. However, because of natural mechanical attributes of human skin, it seems that the plate's size often just depends on the stage of stretching of the lip and the wishes of the wearer.
Among Mursi people about 6 to 12 months before marriage the woman's lip is pierced by her mother or one of her kinswomen, usually at around the age of 15 to 18. The initial piercing is done as an incision of the lower lip of 1 to 2 cm length, and a simple wooden peg is inserted. After the wound has healed, which usually takes between two and three weeks, the peg is replaced with a slightly bigger one. At a diameter of about 4 cm the first lip plate made of clay is inserted. Every woman crafts her plate by herself and takes pride in including some ornamentation. The final diameter ranges from about 8 cm to over 20 cm.
Many recent sources claim that, for Mursi women, the size of their lip plate indicates the number of cattle paid as the bride price. These days, it appears that Mursi girls of age 13 to 18 decide for themselves whether to wear a lip plate or not. The lip plates worn by Mursi women have been instrumental in making them a popular tourist attraction in recent years
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Uploaded
February 20th, 2013
Comments (31)
Barbara St Jean
Wow, the title says it all!! Hard to believe and yet true! Thanks for your submissions to MOUSE!! Congrats on your feature!! F/V
Liudmila Di replied:
Believe, it is true.. Barbara, thank you for feature this work in M O U S E group!..
JOHN TELFER
Liudmila, What a fantastic people capture of a different culture and the expressions that you have captured are remarkable. It is one of those photos that you continue to look at and have to see what other people do in the world. Great journalistic photo. Excellent photo, favorite, voted, google and FB promoted from the group, Lets All Participate - 3 links promote thread
Elena Nosyreva
I think mother and her child are always beautiful, no matter what culture they belong to, wonderful portrait!
Anne Rodkin
Wow. Liudmila, your images of the culture of Africa may be shocking in some cases, but they are all beautifully captured. What a lesson you teach all of us!! Well done!!
Debi Pople
WELL this definitely gets a reaction!!! Incredible, really and kind of disturbing!!! very interesting, fantastic capture, v
Marcia Weller-Wenbert
Wonderful capture of this Mursi woman and her baby. Love the culture you have captured with the lip plate. I agree with Barbara that you could produce an interesting book between your descriptions and photographs. Thank you for sharing your lovely work.
Barbara O'renya
The portraits you take of these african women are really outstanding...!! And the description is very detailed and fascinating..so as this photograph with the lip plate..you could compil all this wonders and beautiful explanations in a very exciting book..^_^
Elizabeth McTaggart
I remember seeing a photograph of a tribeswoman with a lip plate for the first time when I was a kid. It was explained to me that the first lip plates were used as a deterrent to slave hunters, in the hopes that the disfigurement would cause them to be bypassed. Now they are used as adornment and status as the sidebar explains. Awesome and important portrait, Liudmila! v
Sydne Archambault
Luidmila what an exploration and journey of a world so different you have been on. I am impressed with your captures of a people and a place far in miles from mine. This capture is shocking in so many ways, the child suckling on the mothers breast, with a lip plate that tells her worth is mind boggling for me. Your work is excellent, keep doing it, it strikes at the core of beautiful and yet some aspects I cannot look, it is so foreign. This is why it is important.
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