Geerewol: Big eyes, white teeth will win her love

Gem  in the SaharaA happy crowd gathers in the Sahara. It is festival time in this quiet desert community. Here, they call it fete in French. Everyone is in a festive mood, and this is seen in the mode of dressing as well as in  the gait of the Azbenawa: here are gowns, turbans, head […]

Gem  in the Sahara
A happy crowd gathers in the Sahara. It is festival time in this quiet desert community. Here, they call it fete in French. Everyone is in a festive mood, and this is seen in the mode of dressing as well as in  the gait of the Azbenawa: here are gowns, turbans, head ties, bracelets, inspiring hair, uplifting shawls,  dazzling  colours,  and a harvest of Fulani and Tuareg songs and accents. Most of the people stride around like royals. It is nice to be alive, and to witness all of this. The sun burns intensely, as though striving to watch the culturally rich, human deed beneath. It amazes that such arid conditions could produce a festival which is so flowery, so filled with joy, and also  very alive. Here is beauty  tenderly forged by devoted human hands deep in the desert. There is sand in every direction you turn. Dust rises, and this increases as the gathered men dance. All the dancing  men are slim, very slim and tall. There is no hint of fatness on any of them. Fat people are excluded from the Geerewol, I immediately perceive. In the distance magnificent camels emerge, and begin to race, bearing their turbanned happy riders to  a point further on.
Wide, white eyes
The charming men roll their large white eyes and dance. None of the dancers has red eyes. These are pure white eyes. Then they open their mouths a bit to reveal gleaming white teeth. They show off their eyes, as well as their teeth, which  are intensely white. It is truly an unforgettable sight. The men wear a lot of makeup, which makes them look quite feminine. The Wodaabe  are masters in the art of make up, and this festival also celebrates the  perfection of the human body. Woda means ‘Taboo’, and Wodaabe  translates  to mean ‘people of the taboo. This may also have the meaning  ‘those who respect taboos’, states Wikipedia. Upon their heads is a head gear within which is  arranged a group of Ostrich feathers, and their bodies are laced with ochre. When  they dance the feathers also sway in an interesting way, making the men appear quite lithe  and agile. The splendid colours conduce to produce an amazing rainbow of dancing men. It is as though the colours are dancing, or that the colours have a life of their own. The Wodaabe are a very colourful people, and this may be indicative of a rich inner spirit.  Sometimes, the men form a circle and begin to chant’ Gawo..Gawo…’ After a while some of the men raise their arms and stretch them forward, eyes quite  wide , while still in the circle. This  is the famous Geerewol dance of the Wodaabe, a sub group of the Fulani in Niger Republic. In Wodaabe culture it is the duty of the men to beautify themselves for their wives. This contradicts a global phenomen already millions of years old, in which the reverse is the norm. It seems the Wodaabe got it right. The  dance which can extend to being a week long, involves a hypnotic chant.The men also rise and fall on their toes. They dance the Yaake which is the moment when many of  the men form a line and dance before a young marriageable girl, as Wikipedia indicates. This is sometimes done ‘repeatedly over a seven day period,and for hours on end in the desert sun.’
Clean, nice teeth
The annual dance takes place at Ingall, a  community located some distance  off the highway leading to Agadez. The Geerewol has been described by many African and foreign visitors to Niger, as a ‘love festival’, and also as a ‘male beauty contest’. It  can last for up to a week, and usually holds when the nomadic  Woodabe gather at the southern edge of the Sahara  before departing southwards on their dry season pastures. At the end of the rainy season the Fulani gather at Ingall to gather salt and to participate in the Cure Salee festival. It is in the course of this festival that the Geerewol dance is performed, and it has become the major event at the festival. Other events that take place during the Geerewol include  camel racing, bartering over the dowry and much more. The first day of the festival this year was the 15th September. On that day the Prime Minister of Niger was present and he gave a speech. Then there was the introduction of the contestants for the various events. These include those who were to participate in the horse riding, camel, donkey  riding contests,as well as the one for the well fed animals. 16 September, the  second and final day  of the festival, witnessed the contests which are part of the festival,  as well as the presentation of prizes to the winners in the various categories. One visitor who witnessed a Geerewol some years ago,  has this to say about the dance. His words ‘at the Geerewol their beautiful men prepare themselves  painstakingly carefully and then perform  in front of an opinionated  female crowd  in the hope of  attracting their affections.’ On what the female Woodabe likes in the male, he writes ‘Woodabe women favour tallness , white eyes, and teeth, and facial symmetry in their men, and both dance and make up job serve to accentuate these features.’
Beckwith and Fisher in Faces of Africa comment on the Geerewol. According to them ‘The Geerewol is one of the most beautiful dances we have ever seen in Africa. Male contestants form long lines, facing up to 500 female judges, in a competition for physical beauty….The dance alternates between quiet,quasi-religious passages and frenzied  jumping and stomping designed to show off the physical strength and stamina of the men. ‘Most of the visitors and tourists Weekly Trust met at Ingall, drew attention to the romantic theme behind the Geerewol dance. Aidi Alala says ‘Every year when the rains have come, the Fulani usually gather to sing and dance. They do it at Ingall,as well as in the Daji (forested area).’ Some level of praising goes on during the dance, Weekly Trust is told. According to Alili ‘Each man sings his own praise while rolling his eyes. They do this to attract women. A woman who likes him will draw close to him and make this point’.
Gawo, goddess of the river
Almoustapha Tamba  teaches at a school in Agadez. He too sheds light on the Geerewol, which he has witnessed many times. According to him the Wodaabe are animists who believe in beings  who  populate the universe. His words  ‘The Wodaabe are animists, and they worship Gawo, a  river goddess. The Geerewol is actually a dance in honour of Gawo,and interestingly they chant out her name several times during the dance. They wouldn’t do that if there was no link  between them and   Gawo,the goddess.’ He adds that when there is a full moon ‘The Fulani must dance and clap  their hands, and chant Gawo, Gawo, as they begin to revere her.’ He says that the Geerewol is the festival or ceremony for the goddess, and a  very handsome man is chosen for the year. Any woman who likes him, can go up to him and they could marry and have children. The man can  then have a monopoly of the woman for that year. Sometimes, the practice causes some level  of domestic tension in households, because a married man can be chosen at the Geerewol by a lady. His wife would not be able to do anything about this.
A trance-like state
Almoustapha adds that when the men roll their eyes, smile, and show their teeth, they  are actually in a trance, which is part of the worship of Gawo. He says ‘When the men roll their eyes, and show their white teeth, this indicates that they are in a trance, and this is part of the ritual of worshipping Gawo. Rolling the eyes is not actually about wooing a lady, although that interpretation  has crept in now. Originally, rolling of the eyes indicated that the man had entered a trance, as he strove to connect with Gawo. He adds, ‘But now they are using it  to make a point about physical beauty.’ He adds that among the Wodaabe the man who is chosen as the most handsome man, or the most beautiful, would be most sought after by the lady’s present. His words ‘One beautiful man is chosen every year. So, every woman tries to pass the night with him. He is  highly sought after. Every  woman wants to have a first baby with him, because he is seen as model among the men’. He implies that the man so chosen has the blessing of the goddess. He repeats that Geerewol was originally a ceremony in honour of Gawo, the river goddess.
Saving  Geerewol
Almoustapha Tanda  is of the opinion that the Geerewol has suffered some  changes  over the years, and that it has lost its original purity. His words ‘This Geerewol at Ingall is fairly original, but it has adopted folkloric elements. Most times they do  the dance, when the time is not ripe for it. Sometimes the  dancers  come here to receive money and other gifts from the personalities present. ‘He wonders  how the young men could dance the Geerewol when there are lorries present, as well as security men who carry weapons. According to him ‘This is no longer a pure environment.’ The Geerewol should be done in a Daji or forested area, where there are Fulani, alongside their cows. The best form of Geerewol should be done in a green forested place that is alive with Fulani culture, and not a place with lorries, soldiers and guns’. He  puzzles over  how the young men could effectively go into a trance in the effort to worship or revere Gawo, when there are so many distractions around, such as guns and money, which  are major pressures today.
 He also says that the Geerewol  dance  is declining, just as  the  Wodaabe as a group is suffering some decline too. His words ‘The Fulani are becoming Muslims, and they are also  converting to Christianity. They are also beginning to live in towns, and they have started going to school. All of these are having effect on the Wodaabe as a group, their culture, as well as  on the Geerewol, which ought to be an original Wodaabe performance.  Following this line of thought,he says that the Geerewol has become like any  ordinary performance today.’ The spiritual background behind Geerewol has been damaged, and  it is becoming like an ordinary dance. When events are held in the country, the Wodaabe are asked to come and perform. This removes them from their normal environment, and  has profound consequences for the dance.
Next year when the rains are just about to cease and the moon is high in the sky, the Wodaabe will gather as they have always done  for a long time now. Many lovers of the dance will return to Ingall to feast on this  wonderful, even if  slightly distorted, aspect of Wodaabe culture.