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The 'Mursi' (or 'Murzu') are a nomadic cattle herder ethnic group located in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region in Ethiopia, close to the Sudanese border. The estimated population of the Mursi is 6-10,000.^[1]
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 Nyangatom and the Surma.

Contents

Language, Religion and Culture

Displacement Danger

External links

Works cited

Language, Religion and Culture

The Mursi have their own language, also called Mursi. Few are familiar with Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and their literacy level is very low.
The religion of the Mursi people is classified as Animism, although about 15% are Christians.^[1]
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 the Suyá people, a Brazilian tribe.

Displacement Danger

The Mursi are in danger of displacement and/or denial of access to grazing and agricultural land, by African Parks Foundation, also known as African Parks Conservation, of the Netherlands.
It is claimed the Mursi were coerced into signing documents they could not read by government park officials. The documents said the Mursi agreed to give up their land without compensation. The documents are being used to legalize the boundaries of the Omo National Park, which African Parks has taken over. This process, when finished, will make the Mursi 'illegal squatters' on their own land. A similar fate is befalling the Suri Cruz, Dizi, Me'en, and Nyangatom, who also live within the park.^[3]
463 houses were burned down in Nech Sar National Park Ethiopia on November 25, 2005, and people were evicted, after African Parks Foundation signed an agreement with the government to take it over.^[1]

External links

★ Mursi Online

★ People of Africa

★ The Mursi Language

★ National Geographic Photo Gallery

★ Mursi in danger of denial of access or displacement

★ An anthropologist's comments on the Mursi and the Omo Park situation (also available as a Word file)

Works cited