A Perspective from Everyday Life on Mursi Material Culture (SW Ethiopia)

Abstract

The Mursi are an agro-pastoralist group from south-west Ethiopia that builds temporary settlements called ôrri a bio. In these settlements, a series of objects that are made from local, abundant materials by using techniques known by most of the population, are used daily. Usually, studies on collective identities pay less attention to this type of everyday objects and prioritize others of a more extraordinary type. However, this set of materials, as well as their forms, functions, meanings and the practices associated with them, play a relevant role in establishing who and how belongs to the community. In the present study we use the ôrri a bio as an ethnoarchaeological unit of observation where we explore the relationship between diverse materialities and the construction of a particular us.