A Surma / Suri girl will be beautiful if she has a big lip plate, and if her body, is covered of scarifications. They do it with accacia spine and razor blades. Razor blades are the worst thing to use as it may spread diseases thru blood. The local population are no more isolated and, as some surma men start to travel in big ethiopian cities, they also can meet prostitutes... Surma, like Mursi, wear the lip plate. The women start to make a hole in the lower lip when they are ready to marry a man, around 14 - 15 years old. The more the plate will be big, the more the girl will have some value and will be beautiful. This woman on the picture has a middle one. Some Surma people have the chance to go in Addis to study, thanks to the few schools that have been built around, and the ones i met are totally against this tradition once they have tasted the Addis way of life. " Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region" SNNPR © Eric Lafforgue www.ericlafforgue.com
