The Wodaabe (, , ''𞤏𞤮𞤯𞤢𞥄𞤩𞤫'') is a name that is used to designate a subgroup of the Fula

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

who are traditionally

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

ic and found primarily in

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

and

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

. All Wodaabe people should not be mistaken as Mbororo as these are two separate subgroups of the Fulani people. 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 The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

, with migrations stretching from southern

, through northern

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, northeastern

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, southwestern

, western region of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

and the northeastern of the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. 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 Fula ( ),Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh also known as Fulani ( ) or Fulah (, , ; Adlam script, Adlam: , , ; Ajami script, Ajami: , , ), is a Senegambian languages, Senegambian language spoken by arou ...

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 A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

", 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 The zebu (; ''Bos indicus''), also known as indicine cattle and humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of Bos taurus, domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu, like many Sanga cattle breeds, differs from taurine cattle by a fatty hump ...

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

calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, New Guinea butter bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvest ...

es 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 Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

, sweet tea and sometimes goat or sheep meat.

Religion, morals and customs

Wodaabe religion is largely

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic (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 Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

to the elite of northern Nigeria. Al-Maghili was responsible for converting the ruling classes among Hausa, Fula, and

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

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. 1997 274-27 Gerewol

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 Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or Nomad, nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and low ...

migration. The best known of these is In-Gall's Cure Salée salt market and

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 ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 4 July 2004

Documentaries and popular culture

The documentary '' Wodaabe - Herdsmen of the Sun'' by

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

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

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 An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

track on guitarist Jennifer Batten's 1997 album, '' Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage: Momentum''. File:1997 277-2A Wodaabe leaving camp.jpg, A group of traveling Wodaabe in Niger, 1997 File:1997 276-22A Wodaabe fashion.jpg, Two Wodaabe men File:1997 275-9 Gerewol.jpg, A young woman judging the beauty of men at a Gerewol File:North Beauty fo Cameroon.jpg, Woman from Cameroon

References

Sources

* Beckwith, Carol. ''Nomads of Niger''.

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher Média-Participations. Run by president and CEO Mary ...

1993. * Beckwith, Carol
Niger's Wodaabe: People of the Taboo
, ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'', 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 Fula clans