Poster mockup.
Famous for their lip plates, these mothers are fierce protectors and providers for their children. The image represents the maternal instinct of a mother who is breastfeeding, while holding a gun, ready to fight and protect her child in an instant from any threat.
The circle behind her head represents the importance of the disc in Mursi culture. The gold texture also represents the sun, one of the most important sustainers of life on earth for us as humans. It is also a representation of the godliness of African mothers as givers of life, symbolizing the halo, similar to the one around the head of Jesus and other enlightened beings depicted throughout history.
A halo, also known as a nimbus, aureole, glory, or gloriole; is a crown of light rays, a circle, or disk of light that surrounds a person. In art, it has been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures and has at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes.
The background is a picture of a night sky taken in the Omo Valley of Ethiopia where the Mursi tribe is located. Like many agro-pastoralists in East Africa, the Mursi experience a force greater than themselves, which they call Tumwi. This is usually located in the Sky, although sometimes Tumwi manifests itself as a thing of the sky (ahi a Tumwi), such as a rainbow or a bird.
This also explains the symbolism of the bird on top of the head of the child. This bird is found in the Omo valley of Ethiopia where the tribe is located.
The flower at the tip of the gun also is found in the tribes of the Suri and Mursi, which are added as decorative adornments to their bodies. It represents the balance of the rough life they live, where a mother still has to be loving and caring to her child, while simultaneously protecting them. Similar to a rose that grows from concrete, the balance between hard and soft.
The lip-plate symbolizes the ‘tribal’ and ‘untouched’ world of the Mursi.
Available for purchase at: https://africkandy.creator-spring.com/listing/mursi-mother
Want to show support? Donate via PayPal using this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=JRJPD4VZFVR9W or scan the QR Code above.
Please like and appreciate the project!
