Lip Plate, known as a ‘Lip Plug’ or ‘Lip Disc’, is one of the distinguishing features of the Mursi tribe of Africa.
Do you know: A girl in the Mursi tribe perseveres to increase the size of the Lip Plate until it is 12 cms
or more in diameter.
The Mursi tribe is extremely egalitarian in its outlook towards lip-cutting. While the custom is not compulsory, many girls at the age of 15 or 16 years cut their lower lips and hold the lips open with plugs until the wounds are healed. These plugs are made of pottery or wooden discs and are replaced with progressively larger ones.
