See Woman With The World’s Biggest Lip-Disc

According to Punch, An Australian film crew, led by cinematographer, Abraham Joffe, recently stumbled upon the world’s largest lip disc in the remote valleys of Southern Ethiopia. Joffe told Daily Mail Australia that the crew was filming a documentary series for Canon Australia when they made the discovery.

“We were taking a tour with some of the local guides. When they spotted the woman, they were absolutely bewildered,” he said.

Ataye Eligidagne, 20, dons the largest lip disk in the world at a whopping 59.5 cm in circumference and 19.5 cm in diameter which is over twice the size of the average disc. The previous record disc in the Guinness Book of World Records was 15cm in diameter.

Lip discs are a long-running tradition amongst the Surma women of the lower Omo Rover valley in Ethiopia. There is evidence of women wearing the discs in this region as far back as 1896. The procedure, which also involves knocking out the bottom two teeth, is done around the age of 15 to 18.

In recent times, the Ethiopian government has taken measures to ban the discs, and the frequency amongst the younger generations is reportedly dwindling.

The discs are intended to attract a husband as well as a dowry for the family of the wife, who provide a contingent of cattle commensurate to the size of the disc.

“I think that locally, it’s a matter of pride. The larger the disc, the more impressive.”

When asked if her daughter would adhere to the tradition, Eligidagne said she would respect her decision.

Eligidagne has been stretching her lips for three years since the initial piercing. The process also involved the removal of bottom two front teeth. But the 20-year-old said it was not painful at all and there weren’t any adverse affects.