Original artwork – acrylic on canvas ready to hang. 91cm x 91cm. $860.
The Mursi people of Ethiopia’s remote Omo river valley follow ancient practices which hold the belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. This great force they call Tumwi is sometimes manifested as a thing of the sky, such as a bird or a rainbow.
Known as Animism, the Mursi faith attributes a living soul to all things, believing that a supernatural power organises and animates the material universe. Their priest, or Komoru, communicates with the God Tumwi, asking for rain, seeking protection of the people, cattle and crops from disease and pests, the warding off of threatened attacks from other tribes and to safeguard the fertility of soil, men and cattle.
The Mursi women have a rich tradition of scarification, ear piercing, body ornamentation and dress. Amazing varieties of beads, bangles and headdresses incorporating warthog tusks enhance their natural beauty.
AK-47 brandishing men protect the Mursi tribe, where women pierce and stretch their lips to accommodate massive clay or wooden lip plates to make themselves less likely to be stolen by marauding neighbors.
The beauty of Mursi women dressed in their splendid attire, decorative headgear and splendid ornamentation would be difficult to present without offering a detailed, realistic image. Instead, I chose in this painting to portray them in simple graphic form with a rainbow to connect the story of their beliefs.