The Wodaabe are a nomadic people living in the Sahel region on the edges of the Sahara desert, predominantly in Niger and Chad. Once a year after the rains, and just before the long dry season starts, families gather together for a beauty pageant like no other. The Gerewol festival is one of the most fascinating, lively, and colorful cultural events on the African festival calendar (and that's saying something).

I was delighted to hear a wonderful BBC World Service World Update piece on the radio recently, confirming that the festival is still going strong in 2014! You can see an extract of the interview with photographer Steve Bloom on YouTube, it's well worth it.

I first encountered the Gerewol festival while watching Michael Palin's excellent travel series The Sahara (check out episode 3). The festival struck a chord. Not only because I am an '80's girl at heart and am partial to men wearing eye-liner, but also because in this warrior culture it's the men that do the preening, and the women that do the choosing. So refreshing. Not that the women look dowdy by any stretch, their facial tattoos and make up would look daring in any culture.

The Gerewol 

At the end of the rainy season in September, Wodaabe clans gather in several traditional locations, spreading the word via "bush telegraph" or these days, mobile phones. It's the last party before the dry season starts in earnest and families break up into smaller groups to find grazing for their livestock.

 The best known Gerewol takes place in In-gall, as part of the larger Tuareg Cure Salee, but several smaller Gerewols take place in farther flung areas.

Gerewol usually lasts around a week, the highlight is the Yaake dance, the "top bill", where men really strut their stuff, and women get to pick and choose the most attractive mates. Marriage among the Wodaabe is traditionally an arranged affair, so the Gerewol can sometimes throw a spanner in the works, as it encourages the women to choose for love (or basic attraction). For some women it's a nerve wracking experience as their husband may be chosen by another woman. 

As the gathering heats up, the men spend several hours applying make-up with painstaking concentration. Sometimes wives will even help their husbands plait their hair "just so". Foundation is usually a nice shade of red or yellow, with lots of black eye-liner. Symmetry is very important, the eyes must look as large and round as possible, teeth must be white and bright. During the dances, both features are stressed with wide grimaces and lots of eye-rolling. Feathers and other adornments help accentuate physical height, another highly prized feature among the young men (and their lady admirers). The men also sing songs of love as they stamp the ground and dance in a rhythmic line, ankle bells a-jangling. 

The dancing lasts for hours, and in the heat of the desert truly shows off their remarkable fitness and stamina. As the young women watch, the rest of the community relaxes, gossips and eats. Deals are made, friendships cemented and cattle is traded. As the men dance and strut away, at the pinnacle of the Yaake, a small group of unmarried women (usually three) will come along and choose who they wish to spend the night with. They indicate their warrior preference with a light hand on the shoulder. It's then accepted that they will spend the night together, but not necessarily their lives! Not that dissimilar to a nightclub scene in New York, Nairobi or Johannesburg, if only the men wore make up and high heels.

Getting to the Festival

Because different gatherings take place in several locations, and it's somewhat weather dependent - it's difficult for tour operators to time your tour. It means that it's been hard to over-commercialize the Gerewol, but also difficult for those who wish to see it. Drought and al-Qaeda activity have also made it difficult for the Wodaabe to organize a Gerewol on a regular basis. 

Your best bet is to fly into Niamey or Ougadougou and join a tour from there. Fulani Travel organizes tours, and so do Palace Travel based in the US. Check out the Lonely Planet Travel Forum to meet up with other like minded travelers planning to go. 

Sources and More:

BBC World Update - Macho make-up wearing warriors, interview with Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom has photoraphed many cultures, started as wildlife photographer, and then recently moved back to photographing people. Born and raised in SA his aim is to capture the cultures of the continent, from urban Nairobi to traditional cultures such as the Wodaabe. 

Michael Palin's Sahara  (Episode 3)

The Male Beauty Contest Judged by Women - BBC

Timothy Allen (Blog about attending Gerewol in 2009 for the making of the BBC Human Planet film)

Justin Wateridge (Blog about attending Gerewol, date unspecified)

The Wodaabe- Cultural Survival