Woodabe

The Wodaabe ( ff, Woɗaaɓe, Adlam: ), also known as the Mbororo or Bororo (Adlam: , ), or Pullo, have a name that is designated to those of the Fula ethnic group who are traditionally nomadic and considered to be "ignorant of Islam." For this reason, ''Mbororo'' is normally used as a derogatory term by other Fulani groups against the Wodaabe. It is translated into English as "Cattle Fulani", and meaning "those who dwell in cattle camps". The Wodaabe culture is one of the 186 cultures of the standard cross-cultural sample used by anthropologists to compare cultural traits. A Wodaabe woman, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, was also chosen to represent civil society of the world on the signing of Paris Protocol on 22 April 2016.

History

The Wodaabe are cattle-herders and traders in the Sahel, with migrations stretching from southern Niger, northeastern Cameroon, southwestern Chad, western region of the Central African Republic and the northeastern of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The number of Wodaabe was estimated in 2001 to be 100,000. They are known for their elaborate attire and rich cultural ceremonies.

The Wodaabe speak the Fula language and don't use a written language.Carol Beckwith
Niger's Wodaabe: "People of the Taboo"
''National Geographic'', 1983, vol. 164, no4, pp. 483–509 In the Fula language, ''woɗa'' means "taboo", and ''Woɗaaɓe'' means "people of the taboo." This is sometimes translated as "those who respect taboos", a reference to the Wodaabe isolation from broader Fula/Fulani culture, and their contention that they retain "older" traditions than their Fula neighbors.

By the 17th century, the Fula people across West Africa were among the first ethnic groups to embrace Islam, were often leaders of those forces which spread Islam, and have been traditionally proud of the urban, literate, and pious life with which this has been related. Both Wodaabe and other Fula see in the Wodaabe the echoes of an earlier pastoralist way of life, of which the Wodaabe are proud and of which urban Fula people are sometimes critical.Carol Beckwith
An Interview with Carol Beckwith
African Arts, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Aug. 1985), pp. 38–45

Everyday life

The Wodaabe keep herds of long-horned Zebu cattle. The dry season extends from October to May. Their annual travel during the wet season follows the rain from the south to the north. Groups of several dozen relatives, typically several brothers with their wives, children and elders, travel on foot, donkey or camel, and stay at each grazing spot for a couple of days. A large wooden bed is the most important possession of each family; when camping it is surrounded by some screens. The women also carry calabashes as a status symbol. These calabashes are passed down through the generations, and often provoke rivalry between women. The Wodaabe diet consists of milk and ground millet, yogurt, sweet tea and sometimes goat or sheep meat.

Religion, morals and customs

Wodaabe religion is largely Islamic (mixed with pre-Islamic beliefs). Although there are varying degrees of orthodoxy exhibited, most adhere to at least some of the basic requirements of the religion. Islam became a religion of importance among Wodaabe peoples during the 16th century when the scholar al-Maghili preached the teachings of Muhammad to the elite of northern Nigeria. Al-Maghili was responsible for converting the ruling classes among Hausa, Fula, and Tuareg peoples in the region.

The code of behavior of the Wodaabe emphasizes reserve and modesty (''semteende''), patience and fortitude (''munyal''), care and forethought (''hakkilo''), and loyalty (''amana''). They also place great emphasis on beauty and charm.

Parents are not allowed to talk directly to their two first born children, who will often be cared for by their grandparents. During daylight, husband and wife cannot hold hands or speak in a personal manner with each other.

Beauty ideal and Gerewol festival

At the end of the rainy season in September, Wodaabe clans gather in several traditional locations before the beginning of their dry season transhumance migration. The best known of these is In-Gall's Cure Salée salt market and Tuareg seasonal festival. Here the young Wodaabe men, with elaborate make-up, feathers and other adornments, perform the ''Yaake'': dances and songs to impress marriageable women. The male beauty ideal of the Wodaabe stresses tallness, white eyes and teeth; the men will often roll their eyes and show their teeth to emphasize these characteristics. Wodaabe clans then join for the remainder of the week-long Gerewol: a series of barters over marriage and contests where the young men's beauty and skills are judged by young women.Niger's dandy Gerewol festival
''The Times'', 4 July 2004

Documentaries and popular culture

The 1989 documentary ''Wodaabe - Herdsmen of the Sun'' by Werner Herzog describes the Wodaabe.

In the 1999 documentary ''Zwischen 2 Welten'' (between two worlds) director Bettina Haasen films her personal conversations with Wodaabe members.

Sahara - Absolute Desert (2002) - a documentary with Michael Palin who follows a camel caravan of Wodaabe to Ingal in Niger for the annual Sahara Cure Salée festival, to an oasis at Tabelot, then across the Tenere Desert to the border of Algeria.

The 2010 ethnographic documentar
Dance with the Wodaabes
by Sandrine Loncke explores, from the point of view of its participants, the complex cultural significance of the spectacular but frequently misunderstood and sensationalized Wodaabe ritual celebrations known as "Geerewol".

The Niger-based band ''Etran Finatawa'' is composed of Wodaabe and Tuareg members and creates their unique style of "Nomad Blues" by combining modern arrangements and electric guitars with more traditional instruments and polyphonic Wodaabe singing. In 2005 they recorded an album and toured Europe.

"Wodaabe Dancer" is the name of an instrumental track on guitarist Jennifer Batten's 1997 album, '' Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage: Momentum''.

Image:1997 275-15 young Wodaabe women.jpg, Young Wodaabe women with facial tattoos
Image:1997 276-22A Wodaabe fashion.jpg, Two Wodaabe men
Image:1997 275-9 Gerewol.jpg, A young woman judging the beauty of men at a Gerewol
Image:North Beauty fo Cameroon.jpg, Woman from Cameroon

References

Sources

* Beckwith, Carol. ''Nomads of Niger''. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1993.
* Beckwith, Carol
Niger's Wodaabe: People of the Taboo
''National Geographic'', October 1983
* Bovin, Mette
''Nomads who cultivate beauty: Wod̳aab̳e dances and visual arts in Niger''
Nordic Africa Institute, 2001
* Loncke, Sandrine
''Geerewol : Musique, danse et lien social chez les Peuls nomades wodaabe du Niger''
Société d'ethnologie, 2015, 415 p. (with a DVD-ROM including annotated music recordings, short videos and the documentary featur

')
* Loncke, Sandrine
Mémoire et transmission musicale dans une société nomade. L’exemple des Peuls Wodaabe du Niger
''Cahiers d'ethnomusicologie'' 22, 2008, p. 203-222

External links

Website of Djingo, the Wodaabe collectif in Niger

Article on the creation of the Wodaabe collectif

Report on a 2001 trip with a Wodaabe group to Cure Salée
from ''Sahara with Michael Palin''
*Radio program on Fulbe Wodaabe and Fulbe Jelgoobe singing and dancing :
À corps et à voix avec les Peuls Jelgoobe et Wodaabe
', by Sandrine Loncke, France Musique, April 2015.
Online musical archives dedicated to Fulbe Wodaabe singings
(Telemeta, CREM-CNRS).

Photos and videos

Gerewol photos by BBC Human Planet photographer

Video of Wodaabe dance

Video of Gerewol festival
National Geographic
* Wodaabe dancer photos




The Wodaabe's Cure Salée
by Christine Nesbitt

Festival of the Nomads – Cure Salée

Conversation with Woodabe member about marriage
(Experience from Cure Salée festival and Wodaabé photos)


by Sandrine Loncke (Website about Wodaabe ritual celebrations, with annotated music recordings and short videos featuring dance and ritual sequences. Supplement to th
book of the same author
.

Dance with the Wodaabes
documentary feature directed and produced by Sandrine Loncke, Berkeley Media, 90', 2010

Wodaabe, Dance instead of War
, documentary feature written and directed by Sandrine Loncke
Point du Jour International
52', 2013

{{Authority control

Fula people
Ethnic groups in Cameroon
Ethnic groups in the Central African Republic
Ethnic groups in Nigeria
Ethnic groups in Niger
Indigenous peoples of West Africa
African nomads