The Suri pride themselves on their scars and how many they carry. Women perform scarification by slicing their skin with a razor blade after lifting it with a thorn. After the skin is sliced the piece of skin left over is left to eventually scar. On the other hand, the men scar their bodies after they kill someone from an enemy tribe. These rituals, which are extremely painful, are said by some anthropologists are a type of controlled violence; a way of getting the younger tribe members used to seeing blood and feeling pain. It is also a way of adapting these young children to their violent environment. Suri, Southern Ethiopia, 2017

A group of Suri men painting their bodies in preparation for the Donga or Stick fight. The Donga is a very violent tradition were men fight each other with long, solid, wooden stick. Suri, Ethiopia, 2017

A Suri boy blends into the background with the traditional body painting. Suri, Ethiopia, 2017