African Woman with huge lip plates from Sarh (formerly Fort Archambault) - the third largest city in Chad, Africa. In Africa, a lower lip plate is usually combined with the excision of the two lower front teeth, sometimes all four. Among the Sara people (and Lobi) a plate is also inserted into the upper lip, as pictured here. It has been suggested that body modification amongst African tribes was introduced to ward off Arab Slave traders, although this has not been substantiated.