The Suri people are an agro-pastoral people and inhabit part of the West Omo zone of the southern nations in Ethiopia. They also inhabit the mountains of the Great Rift Valley in the plains of south-western Ethiopia. As a people, they pride themselves on the scars they carry.
The economy of the Suri is based on livestock herding and agriculture. They keep cattle and goats, the main source of wealth. Crops planted are sorghum, maize, cassava, cabbage, beans, yams, spice plants and some tobacco. During the dry season, the Suri also collect honey.
The tribe still performs what many call ‘weird’ cultural practices, like attaching plates to their lips and undergoing body scarfication. They pride themselves in their scars and how many they carry. Their women perform decorative scarification by slicing their skin with a razor blade after lifting it with a thorn. After the skin is sliced, the piece of skin left over is left to eventually scar.
Also, when girls hit puberty, they have their bottom two teeth removed before a small hole is cut into their bottom lip. Then a clay disc will be inserted into the hole, which is steadily increased overtime.
Unknown to many in the western parts of the world, the Suri tribes still exist.
