Tourism in South Omo: The Case of The Mursi of Southern Ethiopia (Paperback)

This book is concerned with the anthropology of tourism in south Omo. Of particular concern are the changes in Mursi life brought about by tourism in south Omo. The Mursi as with other groups of people in southern Ethiopia are undergoing significant changes as a result of their popularity amongst mainly western tourists. Perhaps more than other peoples of southern Ethiopia, the Mursi are central to the discourse of primitive and exotic tribalism of 'wildest Africa' that has long dominated the selling of African tourism to the western traveler. For example the lip-plates of Mursi women are a staple of primitivist images in popular tour-guides to Ethiopia but even as existing and ongoing fieldwork is concerned with assessing how both outsiders and the Mursi regard their personal adornments, up till now, no research has as yet addressed how the Mursi themselves perceive outsiders, especially the foreign tourist.