A Mursi warrior wears a long feather in his bright blue fabric headband. His face is whitened with chalk as a mark of respect at the funeral of a revered elder.Guests gather and socialize in the shade of an acacia tree, locally known as Kiringeni.Mursi warriors stampede their finest cattle into the compound where the memorial takes place. Strips of brightly colored fabric are wrapped around the horns and belly of their most valued oxen.Groups of warriors charge into the ceremonial compound, driving their cattle forward and firing their rifles into the air to honor the deceased woman.Two young men wearing ocher face paint, their bodies smeared in cow dung, show off their weapons during the memorial ceremony.Left: During the two-week ceremony, men dance and sing songs about their prized oxen, periodically firing their AK- 47s to send Ngalugu’s spirit into the Afterworld. It is believed that if her spirit remains in the village, it will harm children and cattle. Right: A warrior raises his arms in the shape of a bull’s horns as he performs the Hilgila dance. His back is decorated with the stamps of hands dipped into chalk paint.For two weeks the warriors stampede their herds around the compound in commemoration of Ngalugu, honoring this highly respected female elder.Presiding over Ngalugu’s memorial, her grandson wears a special necklace made from the intestines of a sacrificed ox.The memorial serves as an important social event where the Mursi clans come together. It provides the opportunity for young people to sing, dance, and flirt.Young girls wear ear plugs made of clay and coiled metal bracelets around their arms.Top: One of the male guests sports a belt made of spent cartridges. Bottom: A young female wears armlets made of brass, iron and aluminium.The scarified design on this warrior’s arm imitates the shape of the curvilinear horns of cattle so admired by the Mursi.Mursi men and women scarify their arms and backs with designs both to attract the eye, and to signify bravery and prestige. A series of small cuts are made with a razor blade into which ash is rubbed. When the wound heals, the skin reveals a pattern of small raised marks.At left: A young men wears a bright head and neckband made of strips of colorful fabric, while at right, a young woman wears ear plugs of fired clay, sometimes adding a favorite pair of sunglasses to complete the look.The Mursi delicately and precisely shave circles and curves into their hair with a razor blade.Young women who come from villages exposed to tourism often wear exaggerated adornment to attract the tourist camera and bring in supplementary income.Mursi villagers living along the tourist routes often attach elements from their pubic aprons, cattle amulets, striped horns and even wild berries to their heads to attract tourists’ cameras.Replacing their highly symbolic ornaments, Mursi women now sport pieces of exotic apparel to attract the tourist dollar.Today Mursi women often decorate themselves to attract the tourist eye, counting every click of the tourist’ s camera and charging thirty cents per click.Traditionally, when a Mursi woman is old enough to be married, she has a plate inserted into her lower lip, the size of which indicates the number of cattle required by her parents for her hand in marriage. Today the lip plates are pierced with holes and painted with spots. Women often wearing chastity belts on their heads and cattlehorn talismans on their ears to attract the tourist camera and supplement their income.
