Rituals - Alex Gross: Lip Plating

 Alex Gross

Mr. Roddy

IHSS

12 September 2020

Lip Plating

Lip plating is a common ritual among the Mursi tribe, which is an Ethnic group located mostly in Southeastern Ethiopia. Lip plating is when a girl or woman gets a cut on her lower lip, and progressively puts a larger and larger wooden cork in the hole. The healing process of making the hole larger and larger takes 3-4 months. Many girls get theirs to 5 inches in diameter and some choose to keep going. After this they insert a decorated plate into the hole and just leave it there. Much of the reasoning behind lip plating is unknown. It is just a tradition in their culture that is now a society norm for the Mursi. Something I found interesting is that there is a surprising similarity between this tradition and some things in Western Culture. The lip plate is not ate all required by the tribe or necessary to be accepted. Despite this, most girls choose to get the lip plating done around ages 15-17 because of the fact that this is when people from all over the world feel peer pressure and the necessity to fit in. I never expected that I would see similarities between an African tribe’s societal norms, and my own.

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