Read my Lips

Photographer

Ivan Ferrer

Category

People Photography - Culture

Company

Submission Group

Amateur

Year

2024

Country / Region:

Israel

Member of the Mursi tribe, Omo Valley, Ethiopia. Mursi women are famous for their wooden lip plates – a symbol of beauty and identity. Lip plates are more frequently worn by unmarried girls and newlywed women than by older married women with children. They are generally worn on occasions such as serving men food, milking cows, and important rituals like weddings. If the husband dies, the lip plate is removed since a woman’s external beauty is said to fade after his death.