 Lip piercing and lip stretching were historically found in African and American tribal cultures . Pierced adornments of the lip , or labrets , were sported by the Tlingit as well as peoples of Papua New Guinea and Amazonia . Aztecs and Mayans also wore labrets , while the Dogon people of Mali and the Nuba of Ethiopia wore rings . The practice of stretching the lips by piercing them and inserting plates or plugs was found throughout Pre @-@ Columbian Mesoamerica and South America as well as among some of the tribes of the Pacific Northwest and Africa . In some parts of Malawi , it was quite common for women to adorn their lips with a lip disc called a " pelele " that by means of gradual enlargement from childhood could reach several inches of diameter and would eventually alter the occlusion of the jaw . Such lip stretching is still practiced in some places . Women of the Mursi of Ethiopia wear lip rings on occasion that may reach 15 centimetres ( 5 @.@ 9 in ) in diameter . 
