The Suri or Shuri are sedentary pastoral people that belong to the larger Surma grouping of people amongst a panethnicity residing inwards South Sudan as well as southwestern Ethiopia,on the western banking concern of the Omo river. It includes the Nilo-Saharan-speaking Mursi as well as Me'en. They are numbering virtually 30,000 as well as alive inwards the Boma plateau of south-eastern Upper Nile bordering the Murle, the Giye as well as the Anyuak.

Suri people engaged inwards their traditional ritual stick fighting (Donga). By Dietmar Temps

They extend into Ethiopia, where their tribal headquarters is at Koma. They inhabit the Bench Maji Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, as well as People's Region (SNNPR) inwards Ethiopia. Some are also constitute due west of Mizan Teferi.

Surma, Suri people Suri daughter as well as man child at a traditional trip the lite fantastic toe inwards Anjo village,
Kibish. Blog: Dietmar Temps, go photography Website: Dietmar Temps, photography

Demography as well as Geography
Administratively, they occupy Meoun Payam of Pibor County. The Suri relate linguistically, culturally as well as inwards appearance to the Tirma (Ethiopia). They all the same admit no blood affinity amongst whatever other tribe inwards the area.

Suri describe solid unit of measurement from Anjo village,Omo Valley,Ethiopia happily enjoying their meal. Daily authentic life inwards Anjo village: This is dejeuner fourth dimension food. Corn porridge as well as cabbage as well as java made from the peel of the java edible bean are for their breakfast. By Dietmar Temps

Environment, Economy as well as Natural Resources
The Suri Earth is hilly amongst deep valleys. The climate is mild amongst heavy rainfall. The Suri are predominantly sedentary, agrarian community amongst the economic scheme built on agriculture. The rich fertile soil results inwards a remarkable size as well as quantity of crops. Crops planted are millet, maize, cabbage, marrow, beans, yams, tobacco as well as coffee.

Suri women doing household chores

They maintain goats as well as sheep. They also hunt large game as well as collect dear during the dry out season. They pan gilt inwards the streams as well as brand pots. They engage inwards merchandise amongst the Jiye, the Murle as well as the Ethiopian highlanders inwards tobacco as well as pots (Jiye as well as Murle), king of beasts as well as leopard skins, giraffe tails, dear as well as ivory, rifles as well as ammunition (Amhara as well as Shangalla)

http://www.hamaravideos.com/details/5i2_gfK5ZAY/suri-surma-of-ethiopia-amazing-stick-fighting-part-1.html#.URwFlKUmdjY

Stick fighting has proven to hold upwards unsafe because people receive got died from beingness striking inwards the stomach. Loosing an oculus or a leg during the cope is quite common, although it is strictly forbidden for a fighter to kill his opponent, as well as if a fighter gets killed during the fight, his opponent as well as all his describe solid unit of measurement are banned from the hamlet for life.

Donga stick fighting

For the other locals, especially teenagers, sagenai is a nifty outing. Girls lookout adult man the fights, but it is also the occasion to banking concern jibe out the men, as well as to run into inwards social club to chat or fifty-fifty gossip.
At the halt of the fights, the winners indicate their phallic sticks inwards administration of the girls they desire to engagement with, if the daughter pose a necklace around the stick, it agency she is willing to d ate the champion. Sometimes a grouping of girls is presented to the champion, who previously which i of them would engagement the him.

Suri kids practising stick fight.Kids come upwards as well as do similar the adults: they cope amongst each others!

Age-sets
The Suri practise age-set system, which are fighting sets. The men of the hamlet are divided yesteryear 'age-set': children, immature men (tegay), junior elders (rora) as well as senior elders (bara). Each ready has its role. Each of the fighting sets is held inwards considerable honour yesteryear those junior to it. Children start helping amongst the cattle when they're virtually 8 years old.

Two Suri boys participating a trip the lite fantastic toe inwards Tulgit. By Dietmar Temps

The tegay age-set are single as well as non yet known every bit warriors.If the children or juniors do non present honour to their elders or seniors, the offending ready is severely beaten yesteryear their seniors.
They do the herding as well as earn the correct to function immature elders yesteryear their stick fighting as well as tending of the cattle. Initiation ceremonies for those moving into the side yesteryear side age-set alone come about every 10 or twenty years. They are held on hamlet reason but all ceremonies receive got house on i day. In each hamlet a sheep is suffocated to death, as well as its dung is smeared on the bodies of the initiates. The initiation ritual for the grouping becoming rora is especially violent; the candidates are insulted yesteryear the elders, given menial tasks, starved as well as sometimes fifty-fifty whipped until they bleed.

Suri immature man

Suri Political Organisation as well as Traditional Authority
Suri villages arrive at betwixt xl as well as 2,500 people. Village decisions are made yesteryear an assembly of the men, though women brand their views known inwards advance of the debates.Village discussions are led yesteryear elders as well as the komoru - a ritual chief. The korumus all come upwards from the same clan as well as are chosen yesteryear consensus.

Suri warrior at Donga stick fight

The ‘Gonarabi’, the spiritual caput of the Jufa clan as well as recognized every bit temporal caput of the Suri, lives at Koma. The clans receive got sub-chiefs whose realm is non administrative but spiritual. The clan chiefs are recognised through symbols or emblems namely an ivory horn, blown inwards times of sickness; a drum beaten to denote death; as well as a ready of fire-sticks for producing burn on for certain occasions e.g. commencement of the hunting season. The duties of the temporal chiefs consist of leading their villages inwards times of state of war as well as peace, judging cases, etc.

Each household is run yesteryear a woman. The women receive got their ain fields as well as dispose of the proceeds every bit they wish. Money they brand from selling beer as well as grain tin lavatory hold upwards used to purchase goats, which they as well as thence merchandise for cattle.

Suri women performing their household duties

Spirituality, Beliefs as well as Customs
The Suri believe inwards the existence of a supreme beingness – God. They also believe inwards the existence of spirits as well as undertake prayers as well as sacrifices to God as well as spirits either straight through a medium inwards times of personal as well as community calamity. The Suri receive got alone i rainmaker, as well as the component subdivision is hereditary. Should his services hold upwards required, chips from a for certain tree are masticated, as well as the resulting juice is mixed amongst clay as well as smeared over a man’s body. Rain may hold upwards expected to fall. The same termination may hold upwards obtained locally yesteryear dipping a stick of the same tree inwards H2O as well as throwing the latter upwards.

Suri man child paradigm his trunk earlier donga fight

Suri Culture: Arts, Music, Literature as well as Handicraft

Suri adult woman from Kibish,Omo Valley,Ethiopia using her small-scale mirror to lookout adult man her beauty

The Suri trip the lite fantastic toe is performed yesteryear separately yesteryear each sexual practice ,with the other forming a band circular the dancers. The men trip the lite fantastic toe to the melody of the drums. The women on the other hand, trip the lite fantastic toe to their ain singing as well as the audio made yesteryear their paw slapping their pare ‘skirts’ amongst the palms of their hands.

Suri men showing their tribal beautification marks. By Eric Lafforgue

Suri people receive got developed as well as created novel trunk paintings every bit good every bit novel clothes codes inwards social club to attract tourists. They receive got understood that tourists would hold upwards to a greater extent than eager to receive got pictures from them amongst such decoratives paintings as well as ornaments, as well as to pay for it.

Suri sheperds amongst white trunk paradigm ,Tulgit, Ethiopia

A few years ago, Suri boys started to disguise yesteryear wearing blossom headdresses, patch Mursi girls started to article of apparel small-scale metallic element rollers inwards their hair, that were formerly worn during catamenia periods.

These clothes codes, invented for some of them, receive got lost their social as well as cultural meaning.

Suri Tribe Girl Looking At Her Hair, Kibish, Omo Valley, Ethiopia

Beautiful Suri woman

Neighbours as well as Foreigners

Suri girl

The Suri neighbor Murle to the west; the Anyuak to the north; the Toposa as well as Jiye to the south; the Amhara, Ghimira, Tirma as well as other Ethiopian groups to the east. The Suri receive got had bad relations amongst their neighbours who continuously harassed as well as raided them until 1936 when the Boma plateau was militarily occupied. The Suri, however, receive got had proficient relations amongst the Jiye as well as the Shangalla.

Suri adult woman preparing a meal

Latest Developments
The Suri receive got been completely neglected as well as marginalised. Their participation inwards the social, economical as well as political life inwards South Sudan has been nil.

Portrait Of Welebiko, H5N1 Suri Rebel, Tulgit, Omo Valley, Ethiopia. The Earth forces is looking for Welebiko, who is the main leader of the Suri tribe, the most famous rebel inwards the Omo valley. He lives inwards the bush, as well as is beingness pursued yesteryear the police. He is educated as well as is i of the few who claims that the sale of the lands is a component subdivision of a massive corruption organization inwards Ethiopia.

«The authorities sees us every bit foreigners; they do non consider us every bit human beings. But nosotros are non beggars: nosotros demand our cows, nosotros drinkable the milk as well as the blood; it is plenty for us to feed ourselves.»
Elite shooters were sent yesteryear Ethiopian authorities at the halt of July to grab him.
“They do non desire to grab me, they simply desire to kill me”.

In August, the Earth forces catched her married adult woman ans sent her inwards jail.

The state of war could receive got been a approbation inwards disguise, every bit the Suri got connected to the residuum of South Sudan as well as their children at in i lawsuit function to a schoolhouse run yesteryear the Diocese of Torit inwards upper Boma. Many of them receive got also converted to Christianity as well as modernity is piece of cake influencing the Suri.

Suri teenage smoking a cigarette,Kibish,Ethiopia

Diaspora
There is no information whether or non a Suri Diaspora exists.

Three Suris ladies amongst shaved head, Kibish, Omo Ethiopia

Suri people dancing at a wedding
Source:http://www.gurtong.net/Peoples/PeoplesProfiles/Surikachipo/tabid/231/Default.aspx
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/4963788085/( Eric Lafforgue)

SOME AMAZING PHOTOS OF SURI/SURMA PEOPLE

Suri Girl amongst a chewing stick inwards her mouth