Young Makua woman with white musiro mask. Muxara. Mozambique

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For Makua women in the province of Cabo Delgado it's very common to see women and little girls with a white paste on their face. The mask, called Musiro or N'siro is made by scraping branches of a bush (Olax distiflora) on a stone and mixing it with water. It is used as a beauty mask to protect the skin from the sun as well as to provoke the attentions of men. The paste is worn until it dries and flakes off. Apparently, in days gone by, only virgins or women whose husband's are away were permitted to adorn themselves in this manner.

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Size: 3908px × 5700px
Location: Africa Mozambique Cabo Delgado province Muxara
Photo credit: © Bert de Ruiter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: africa, beauty, bert, cabo, de, delgado, distiflora, face, makua, mask, mozambique, musiro, muxara, olax, paste, protection, ruiter, skin, travel, vertical, white, woman, young