Well, I got curious and found out that piercing and lip plates are a strong part of the Suri culture (also called Surma). At the point of puberty most women have their bottom teeth removed in order to get their lower lip pierced. Once the lip is pierced, it is then stretched and a lip plate is then placed in the hole of the piercing. Having a lip plate is a sign of beauty and the bigger the plate, the more cattle the woman is worth. This is important when the women are ready to get married.
It is still unknown why and how lip plates came to be used. One theory says lips plates were used to discourage slave owners from taking the women who had them. In recent years, some young women are refusing to have their lips pierced.
The Suri pride themselves on their scars and how many they carry. Women perform scarification by slicing their skin with a razor blade after lifting it with a thorn. After the skin is sliced the piece of skin left over is left to eventually scar. On the other hand, the men scar their bodies after they kill someone from an enemy tribe. These rituals, which are extremely painful, are said by some anthropologists are a type of controlled violence; a way of getting the younger tribe members used to seeing blood and feeling pain. It is also a way of adapting these young children to their violent environment.
The Suri also paint their bodies white for some occasions.
A sport and ritual the Suri take extremely seriously is stick fighting. In most cases, stick fighting is done so young men can find wives. It is a way for young men to prove themselves to the young women. To the Suri, the ideal time to stick fight is just after it rains. The fights are held between Suri villages, and the fights begin with 20 to 30 people on each side. Of these 20 to 30 people, all get a chance to fight one on one against someone from the other side. During these fights there are referees present to make sure all rules are being followed. Many stick fights end within the first couple of hits. Stick fighting has proven to be dangerous because people have died from being hit in the stomach. Since stick fighting draws a large audience, it becomes a threat of danger. Shooting can easily break out and this seems to be the new trend for young Suri men; using guns instead of sticks.
Each household in the Suri village is run by a woman. These women also own their own fields and are allowed to use their profits however they wish. Every age group has a certain role. Young men (''Tegay'') are not yet considered warriors, begin helping with cattle when they reach age eight. Junior elders (''Rora'') are a hard age-set to be initiated into. It takes 20 to 30 years to get to this new age-set. During this initiation the young men are sometimes starved or even whipped until they bleed. Decisions of the village are made by the men in an assembly. Women are not allowed to voice their opinions during these debates but are allowed to before the debates take place. These debates are led by the tribe’s ritual chief also known as the Komoru.
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| Surma woman with lip plug |
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| Surma Person with arm scarification |
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| Surma man with body art |
Source:Wikipedia
Quite informing. I like it
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