denny Ethnic & National book

The Mursi The Mursi are a Nilotic pastoralist ethnic group that inhabits southwestern Ethiopia. They principally reside in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region, close to the border with South Sudan. Mursi Woman with a lip plate Surrounded by mountains between the Omo River and its tributary the Mago, the home of the Mursi is one of the most isolated regions of the country. Their neighbors include the Aari, the Banna, the Bodi, the Kara, the Kwegu, the Me'en, the Nyangatom and the Suri. They are grouped together with the Me'en and Suri by the Ethiopian government under the name Surma. The Mursi speak the Mursi language as a mother tongue. It is classified as Surmic, which is a branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Two orthographies for the Mursi language exist, one Amharic-based and the other Latin-based. The former was developed by members of the missionary organization Serving in Mission, who have worked amongst the Mursi at Maki since 1987. The Latin-based orthography was developed by Moges Yigezu of Addis Ababa University. The religion of the Mursi people is classified as Animism, although about 15% are Christians. The Mursi women are famous for wearing plates in their lower lips. These lip discs are made of clay. Girls are pierced at the age of 15 or 16. Similar body ornaments are worn by both sexes of the Suyá people, a Brazilian tribe. A group called "Native Solutions to Conservation Refugees" says that the documents ...