The Suri tribe inhabit the mountains of the Omo Valley in the plains of south-western Ethiopia in Africa
During puberty, girls have two teeth removed and their lip sliced to fit in the plate, which can be 16 ins
Girls with bigger plates can marry a man with more cows, which is a sign of affluence among the tribe
Women of the Suri tribe who slice their lips aged twelve to insert plates measuring up to 16 inches as a symbol of beauty.
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An old woman smoking a bong-like apparatus whilst wearing a ten-inch lip plate (left) while a woman poses for a portrait
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Used as a status symbol, the larger the lip plate, the more cows the girl’s father can demand in dowry when his daughter marries - cattle are enormously important to the Suri people as a mark of wealth
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A woman takes her clay plate off while she works to display her stretched lips after years of wearing the device. The scars left behind when the plate is not in place are also said to be attractive