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The term Surma is variously used to describe the Suri tribe or a group of related tribes. The Suri are a small African tribe which inhabits an area in southwestern Ethiopian along the the Sudanese Border. They are one of several tribes in the fertile Omo Valley. They number an estimated 20,000 people. The Suri are sometimes called the Surma. They are sedentary pastoral people who breed cattle. The economy and cultured is centred on cattle. One author suggests that the Suri take beauty 'seriously'. This is often expressed through body painting by both genders. The Suri speak a language from the Surmic language family. This suggests that they are related to the Mursi and Meen peoples. Surmic is part of the Nilo-Saharan language phylum. Before the discovery of DNA, language was one of the principal tools used by anthropolgists to ascertain the relationships between tribes. Language is often, but not alwats related to ethnicity. The Suri, Mursi, and Meen are sometimes collectively referred to as the Surma. The collective numbers about 80,000 people. Stick fighting is a popular activity for the boys. Boys working as cowherds have a great deal of time on their hands and this is one of the ways they pass the time. The sticks are used to heard the cattle.
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