Gerewol: Male ‘beauty contest’ in the Sahara

The annual Gerewol held in Niger Republic from 11th -13th November and a  TV crew from Nigeria  travelled to cover the contest, in which men line up with makeup on their faces  and are judged by the females. Gerewol 2016 held in Eggo, a community which lies in the Sahara. The event regularly holds in […]

The annual Gerewol held in Niger Republic from 11th -13th November and a  TV crew from Nigeria  travelled to cover the contest, in which men line up with makeup on their faces  and are judged by the females.

Gerewol 2016 held in Eggo, a community which lies in the Sahara. The event regularly holds in Ingall, a settlement just outside Agadez, but why it didn’t hold there this year isn’t very clear. Gerewol is  a ‘male beauty contest’ or ‘courtship  festival’  as some have described it, in which male members of the Wodaabe, a  branch of the  Fulani, pause just a bit from herding to  decorate themselves with lipstick, feathers, fine  clothes  and  ochre  in order to make themselves attractive to the opposite sex, becoming very effeminate in the process. On this occasion there is much tea drinking as well as singing.

It is an annual event  in which the men preen themselves, and this is a reverse of a culture already  millions of years old, in which  women beautify themselves and dress up to look good not only for themselves, but also, maybe, for the men. Everfest.com describes this in the following words  ‘A role reversal of sorts takes place, with Wodaabe men donned in feathers, colourful clothes and face paint, singing and dancing in a line to impress the women.’ Abdullahi Modu makes  an interesting point  ‘Women and girls go to the Gerewol with little or no makeup. Its  the male dancers  who wear makeup.’ Modu is of Farinwata  Television and covered this year’s version of the annual gathering, alongside  four others who were led by  Abubakar Matazu, MD  of Farinwata  TV, an Abuja based media outfit.

This culture  of preening has been willingly conceded  to the men during the days of the famous Gerewol, for which there is elaborate preparation which may take  a number of months. In the midst of  sunshine, dust and desert, as well as  the rigours of an arid  environment,an  event  filled with   much colour ,style and wooing   emerges to thrill  visitors and  locals alike. It is true  that a  people with  a very high sense of beauty would naturally form a  colourful  performance such as the Gerewol ,or something akin to it.

During the event  a series of dances are performed over a period of two or three days, and while this goes on young girls of marriageable age step forward to select a man they  consider the most handsome of the  dancing lot. The men form a line and dance in a trance -like state, while the women judge their motions  and  look at their make up in this thrilling desert festival which has survived for many years.

The women help the men to do the hairdos and other aspects of their appearance just before the festivities begin. Big white eyes, and nice  white teeth in the male, are the main attractions at the Gerewol, and Modu thinks so too. A woman will select a man who has big white eyes, and very  white teeth. He will then marry her, or take her as a lover. At a subsequent Gerewol, a man may  win a lover by the  magic of his dance and  the sheer  charm  of his make up.

But a woman could ‘leave her lover if she has reason to do so, and get a new one at a Gerewol’, Modu adds. He speaks of a man whom the  team met at this year’s  Gerewol, who had travelled down to see if he could find his lover (a lady) who had earlier left his house. ‘People don’t seem to believe in marriage as we know it   in Nigeria’, he  says, stressing ‘This is why there are many children in Niger who don’t really know their parents’, he  points out,  drawing attention to a growing local problem of which there doesn’t seem to be much mention in the media. The Gerewol  is a courtship dance,  and it issues from  a  group of the nomadic Fulani who begin to look forward to the next dance, as soon as one ends. Already many, including Modu and this writer, are looking forward to Gerewol 2017.

It is a big event among the Wodaabe, also known as the ‘people of the taboo.’ Camel racing is also part of the Gerewol celebration too, but this occurs  on the sidelines. The sight of elegant  camels  racing in  the desert raising dust and stunning the visitor ,is something this writer witnessed  near  Agadez  while  covering   the Gerewol a few years ago. The memory lives.