Why girls of the Mursi tribe must remove their teeth and stretch their lips before they marry

June 5, 2023 1:52 PM

Mursi is a unique Surma tribe in Southern Sudan and the language they speak is also called Mursi. When a Mursi girl becomes a teenager, she begins the process of lip stretching.

The girl has her bottom teeth removed to make space for a lip plate, which is increased in size annually.

The plates are inserted into the lip causing it to stretch, and it is said that the larger the clay plate, the more the woman is worth before she gets married. Mursi women only wear the plates for a short time because they are so heavy and uncomfortable.

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