10 Pictures: Amazing body art in the world of Ethiopian tribe

In south western Ethiopia, where the Omo River snakes through the lush, green forests, disappearing tribes live in their timeless grass huts. The Surma people, made up of the Suri tribe and the Mursi tribe, are known for their impressive lip discs, a sign of beauty and status for the women.



But they are seeing their way of life slowly being wiped out by extreme drought, building of dams and the establishment of national parks which have all threatened their livelihood.



Hoping to capture the beauty of this traditional tribe before it is wiped out, photographer Louisa Seton travelled to the African country to find and record on film the lives of these extraordinary people.



Seton, who was born in Nairobi, Kenya, but is based in Sydney, Australia, travelled to the villages of the Surma people in 2015, where she stayed and photographed them. She also shot pictures of members of the Hamer tribe.



said that, 'The children are always the easiest to photograph as they love to touch, laugh and joke with me. These children were fascinated with my long blond hair and loved to touch it. The baby was a afraid of my white skin and cried when she was handed to me to carry'



One of the most famous traditions of the Surma (collective term for Mursi and Suri tribes) are the clay lip plates inserted into their lower lip. This practise happens when women reach marriageable age.



The two lower teeth are knocked out (usually by a rock) and a slit made in their lower lip in which a small wooden plug is inserted.



This plug is replaced by a larger one until the lip is stretched enough to hold a clay or wooden plate.


Traditionally the Suri women take care of the household and child rearing and tend to fields of sorghum, maize, beans, tobacco.


The women's pot was used to carry sorghum beer a much loved beverage amongst both male and females.


The landscape in Upper Omo valley is dense with lush, green bush. This was taken high up and very close to Sudanese border.






Source: Khaskhabar

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