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African Lip
Plugs
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We share with you pictures
of
African lip plugs, or labrets, which were in
fashion prior to European contact in Africa. Their original purpose may
have been to deform, affording women a sort of protection from Arab slavers.
David Livingstone asked a chief the reason for them and in surprise the chief
answered; for beauty! They are the only beautiful things women have. Men have
beards, women have none. What kind of person would she be without Pelele ? She
would not be a woman at all. |
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Sometime after birth, mothers would pierce a
child’s lip with a thorn. The holes were enlarged with stalks of grass until
they were about two centimeters in diameter and large enough to insert a plug.
In some tribal areas, the stretching of one or both lips continued throughout
life, by inserting ever larger plugs. Lip tissue would elongate and conform to
the shape of the implanted objects. Sometimes the lower incisor teeth were
extracted to make room for the base of the plug or plate. |
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African lip plugs are found in round or
trapezoid shapes of various sizes.
There were also rings, as well as simple
carved balls fitted with a flat base that could be inserted into the lower
lip.
A variety of materials were used in the
manufacture of lip plugs, including wood, ivory, clay, bone, shiny metal,
shell and sometimes crystal. |
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In southern Chad , lip plugs might exceed 6
inches. Llarge sized plugs afforded greater status to the wearer.
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From
east to west, coast to coast, but dependant on the tribal group, both
men and women used lip plugs. |
Carol Kaufmann - South African National Gallery
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