In the Mursi tribe of Ethiopia, girls learn to stretch the skin of their lower lips using special disks. The larger the disk, the higher the girl’s social status, and the larger the dowry that has to be paid before a marriage.

As for the reasons behind this unusual tradition, there are two theories: on the one hand, the Mursi believe that evil spirits can enter a person through the mouth, and therefore the disk is used to stop them. According to the other version, the Mursi began to do this to avoid having their women taken away to be used as slaves.