A young Kwegu girl garlanded with wild Desert Rose flowers. Adopting the practice of Karo women and girls, many Kwegu girls pierce a hole below the lower lip in which they place a thin piece of metal or a nail for decoration. The Kwegu (known to the Karo as Muguji - a degoratory name meaning 'Working Ant') are the smallest tribe living on the banks the Omo River in southwest Ethiopia. Only 500 to 600 strong, they live under the protection of the powerful Nyag'atom people who are their neighbours. During the 20th century, they have been serfs of the Mursi, then of the Karo who mistreated them before they moved to Nyag'atom country.