Les belles idées de la défigurée : à propos du plateau labial des Mursi (Ethiopie)

Abstract

The Mursi lip-plate is usually seen as a disappearing sign of backwardness. Beyond a counter argumentation on the stereotypes, I will try to show that the lip-plate has several modes of action, all within the praxis of the body to which it is integral. The layers of meaning, pragmatic challenges and the perceptual impacts accumulated by this simple object must be stripped away. This reveals the following : postural adaptation which internalizes the way that men see women, a scar that represents a binding initiation into the feminine condition, a circular form as a permanent synthesis of ephemeral social formations and a disfigurement that indicates an aesthetic scheme encompassing humans and livestock.

Keywords

• body
• adornment
• aesthetical pattern
• attitude modification
• lip-plate
• scarifications