The Suri Tribe of Ethiopia

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INTRODUCTION
Suri people of south west Ethiopia is a cattle-centered culture where the riches and status of a family is determine by the amount of cattle they have. The cattle are used for milk and blood which is consumed by the people, as a wedding gift and not to be eaten unless there is big ceremony is in place. Suri villages range between 40 until 2500 people. Suri are famous for their stick-fighting skills, a sport, martial arts and highly dangerous activities done by the Suri men. They believe that engaging this activity will let them used to the pain as the Suri are always under threat from neighboring tribes for land. Suri woman are one of the tribes who uses lip plates, a clay plate that are inserted into the bottom lips. Suri has no written history, only verbal history references pass down from generations to generations. It is said that their former name was ‘Nagos’ instead of Suri, Suri also have similarity in term of culture with the Mursi tribes.

SYPNOSIS
This one hour documentary follows Bruce Parry on his journey to know more about the life of Suri People in South West Ethiopia. Here Parry lives with his host’s family where he lives the way the Suri people lives, learns how to stick-fight, knows more about the hardships the Suri people faced and how they try to go on their daily lives amid the threats surrounding them.

DISCUSSION
Society
Suri villages are lead by Komoru or a ritual chief, ever decision is made in an ensemble where all the men and sometimes women give their point of view regarding the matter. All the men in the village are categorize by their age, the youngest to elder. Every villagers in the village has their own roles, the children helps their parents with the cattle while the men with food gathering or hunting. By stick fighting, they earn the right to be a young elder. Cattle means status in the Suri lives, the higher number of cattle own the richer you get. The Suri is protective of their herd of cattle; they are willing to fight and some, willing to steal from the neighboring village.

Marriage & family
In a household, woman are the one who runs it, they have their own fields, used the money earn from selling beer and grain to used to buy goats which is then traded for cattle.

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