Wodaabe

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Wodaabe women, Niger
Geerewol the Wodaabe
(video, 58 sec.)

The Wodaabe ("people of taboo") or Fulbe Bororo belong to the ethnic group of the Fulbe . They are one of the last tribes in Africa to have preserved their fully nomadic existence as cattle herders in the Sahel region . The Wodaabe predominantly live in Niger today , where they make up around two percent of the total population.

Her code of conduct emphasizes restraint and modesty (semteende) , patience and fortitude (munyal) , care and foresight (bakkilo) and loyalty (amana) .

The 45,000 members of the community value beauty and charm, which form the basis of an unusual and unique courtship ritual , the geerewol , in which the men vie for the title of the most beautiful in a three-day dance competition. The geerewol is also the celebration of thanks for the lush grass growth of the rainy season.

history

Wodaabe woman from Cameroon

Centuries-long enmity exists between the Islamic Tuareg and the pagan Fulbe, which also includes the Fulbe Bororo.

During a major Sahel drought between 1968 and 1973 , the Bororo Fulbe people suffered the lowest losses among the nomadic peoples of the Sahel region with only 50% loss of livestock. In 1983 the Bororo community had shrunk to just 70,000 members as a result of environmental and civilization influences.

A well-known representative of the Mbororo is Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim ; In her work she points out that nomadic communities are increasingly losing their livelihoods due to the climate crisis .

Films / documentaries

  • The shepherds of the sun , film by Werner Herzog
  • Sahara, a lost paradise - From the origin of the desert peoples , Terra X , Eps. 16

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Beckwith, Fisher, Afrika , p. 174.
  2. ↑ Willy Lützenkirchen, Peter Carmichael: Bororo: The beautiful men on the "Gerewol" . In: GEO August 1983 , pp. 122-142.

literature

  • Carol Beckwith, Angela Fisher: Africa. Cults • Festivals • Rituals . Volume 1. Bucher, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-7658-1243-9 .
  • Mette Bovin: Nomads who cultivate beauty: Wodaabe dances and visual arts in Niger . Nordiska Africa Institute, Uppsala 2001, ISBN 91-7106-467-2 .
  • Nikolaus Schareika: West of the calf leash. Nomadic animal husbandry and natural history knowledge among the Woɗaaɓe Southeast Nigerians . Lit, Münster 2003, ISBN 3-8258-5687-9 .

Web links

Commons : Wodaabe  - collection of images, videos and audio files