Populating the Sahel desert from northern Cameroon to Chad, Niger and northeast Nigeria. One of the last nomads in the area, the Wodaabe men number between 160,000 and 200,000. Every year the men of the tribe take part in a beauty contest which is judged by women, it is called the Gerewol. It takes place at the end of the rainy season. The rainy season is from June to September. Gerewol is the highlight of the year. It lasts for seven days and nights and is a time for everyone to come together no matter what lineage group.This rite of passage happens once a year and the location and date are kept secret until just before the event.The judges are daughters of past winners. Only non-married women can be elected to judge. They have to be 18 and under Each judge chooses her winner and can take him as her lover. She cannot not have him as her lover if he already has a lover or wife. |