Gerewol is one of the most fascinating and off-the-beaten-track cultural experiences in West Africa. At the end of the rainy season, two large nomadic Wodaabe family clans (the Soudousukai and the Ndjapto) meet in a unique beauty contest in which the men try to seduce a female jury. The objective is to get a wife (or one-night lover) and the weapons are good looks, the sumptuousness of the clothing, the perfection of the makeup and the skill in performing a dance called yaake.
In countries such as Chad and Niger, Wodaabe nomads are constantly on the move in search of pasture and water for their livestock, which includes goats, sheep, donkeys or camels, but especially cows. It’s a very hard life. They cover enormous distances (up to 35 kilometers a day) in isolated family groups. The Gerewol, which usually lasts a week, is the only time of the year when everyone gets together, catches up on news, reinforces their alliances and arranges marriages.
This year, one of these meetings took place in early October in the surroundings of Massenya (Chari–Baguirmi region), about 170 kilometers from N’Djamena, the capital of Chad. The rainy season is coming to an end and large herds of cows with bow-shaped horns graze among the sparse grass, watched by children. Sheltered among thorny bushes and acacias, are the denki, the removable wodaabe houses, similar to wooden bunk beds and supported by fine pillars carved by hand and painted with geometric patterns. Sitting on the ground, women shake gourds filled with milk until it turns into yogurt. Outside of this inner circle, men begin to prepare to look their best. We are in the middle of the savannah and it has only recently dawned. It won’t take long for us to exceed 40 degrees.
Young people shave their hairline to show a broader forehead. Others help themselves to decorate their long, elaborate braids with ribbons, beads and cowrie shells. They will complete the hairstyle with stuffed turbans or the more traditional conical hats, embroidered and topped with an ostrich feather, which will make them look even slimmer than they already are.
In the shade of the acacia trees, some men add tiny beads to their clothing, others assemble necklaces with (oh globalization!) toy whistles. Later they will make up their faces with ocher, red clays or a mixture of both. Those with thinner skin achieve a lacquer-like texture. They mark the roundness of the facial oval (clearly contouring was not invented by the Kardashians) and draw a white line along the nose with chalk, to make it appear sharper.
Eyelids, eyebrows and lips are painted with the black of charred egret bones or the blue of battery acid. In this way they manage to highlight the whiteness of teeth and eyes, one of the traits most valued by the women of this town.
Being perfect for this unique courtship ceremony requires long hours of preparation. Every so often, men check the results of so much effort by looking in the little mirrors that they always carry with them. They spend so much time grooming themselves that it has earned them the title of “the most vain tribe in the world.”
But this people, made up of subgroups of the Fulanis and the Tuaregs, call themselves “people of taboos” and are governed by pulaake, a strict moral and behavioral code in which values ??such as discretion, patience, or strength. Modesty, which the pulaake also requires, does not, however, prevent them from cultivating aesthetics and considering themselves the most beautiful people.
The Woodabe base their canon of beauty on symmetry around a central axis, and dresses, headdresses and makeup are designed to stylize their features. For this people, aesthetics is an essential part of their daily life, as is taking care of the livestock on which their subsistence totally depends.
As anthropologist Mette Bovin has written, for the Woodabe, being an artist is a vocation that everyone cultivates. The carved pumpkins, the poles that support their portable houses, the body paint, the jewelry and the tattoos are examples of this. In the Gerewol their artistic expression reaches its climax, but in their daily lives they also take great care of their appearance and dress with a great aesthetic sense. They would not look out of place on a catwalk with their long shirts combined with cropped pants or what in the West is known as pajama style.
They dress in dark colors on a daily basis. But for the party they decorate themselves with bright colors, including imaginative t-shirts that recreate those of European football clubs but with absolutely African prints. The two braids that fall on their foreheads provide them with magical protection. Both men and women sport facial tattoos with geometric motifs: for this they have had to suffer cuts (scarifications) from early childhood.
For men, the day passes between personal care and conversations under one of the few shades. Meanwhile, they take care of water, babies and cooking the millet that is part of their livelihood, along with milk. At dusk, a chant makes its way through this dusty place. High-pitched voices, clapping and sibilant sounds are as hypnotic as the dance the men have begun.
Shoulder to shoulder, they form a circle and are accompanied by oscillating movements that make the necklaces and bags with charms bounce against their bodies, which helps set the rhythm. But the most striking thing is their grimaces, with their mouths wide open and their eyes blank to highlight that whiteness that their women value so much. As the day goes by, the circles open and the men line up, always shoulder to shoulder. This way the young judges will be able to better appreciate its presence. While the local old women tease them, a master of ceremonies encourages them to give their best.
After three days of strutting, a young woman walks very slowly towards the dancers, almost with gheisa steps. She covers herself with a veil. It is a moment full of suspense. With a quick movement she extends her arm and touches the heart of her favorite man with her hand. She is a seen and unseen. Behind her, two teenagers will do the same ritual with her chosen one. Euphoria breaks out and everyone runs to congratulate the winners. The heads of the clans make vehement parliaments. Night has already fallen on the savanna, which will keep the secret of what happens next.
