(Wodaabe men compete in a Gewerol festival. Image by Dan Lundberg via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/9508280@N07/675366895/in/photostream/ )
Happy Independence Day, Niger! On August 3rd, 1960, this West African country gained independence from the French. To celebrate the country’s independence, we are exploring the Wodaabe tribe’s culture and the fascinating Gewerol mating rituals.
The Wodaabe tribe are nomadic sub-groups of Fulani people that can be found in Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria. Known by surrounding tribes as the Bororo people, the Wodaabe are mainly cattle herders, and migrate periodically based on the dry, cold, and rainy seasons.
Culturally, the men usually tend to camels and cows, while women cook and tend to donkeys. This Islamic community is known for its creativity, which is mostly expressed through fashion style, dyed cloth, jewelry, hairstyles, face decoration, and scarification.
(Wodaabe women. Image by Dan Lundberg via Flickr)
Wodaabe culture values male beauty more than female beauty. The men and women complete their morning beauty rituals religiously, as their physical appearance speaks to their ideals of self-respect. The term ‘Kayeejo Naawdo’, which means ‘hurting man’, is used to describe a man who is painful to look at because of his beauty.
(Wodaabe men during the Guwerol Festival. Image by Alfred Weidinger via Flickr)
The Gerewol festival is a mating ritual that the polygamous Wodaabe tribe does during the short rainy seasons. In preparation for the Gewerol festival, the men paint their faces, wear long feathers on their heads, and adorn themselves with jewelry and don exquisite robes. During the festival, participating males shine their teeth and eyes to display the whiteness of their teeth and eyeballs, which is highly valued in the culture. They also sing songs, perform the Yaake dance, and jump high to impress their female judges.
The winner of the Gerewol festival is awarded a night of passion with a beautiful woman of the village. Both parties may or may not be married. This beauty contest indicates women in the Wodaabe tribe have positions of power in terms of beauty and mating.
Watch the Wodaabe prepare for and perform the Guwerol here.
Works Cited
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/wodaabe
https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/20064/NG
https://amuse.vice.com/en_us/article/neg5g8/wodaabe-wife-stealing-sex
