Niger :
the Guérewol of the Fula Wodaabe
also known as the Bororo People,
and Djado, etc.
A Field Producer's photos of some of our past productions filming in Niger :
Photos by Excelman Productions : these photos are not intended to be works of art, but rather simply as pre-reconnaissance reference aids.
The Guérewol (var. Guerewol, Gerewol) is an annual courtship ritual competition among the Wodaabe Fula people of Niger (also called Peuls, Foulani, Fulbhés, Fulfulde, Pular or Bororo, this last appellation "Bororo" although very widely used is somewhat pejorative and has a negative connotation : it is only used by people of other ethnic groups and means "the abandoned wandering shepherds" and is thus to be avoided ! ). Young men dressed in elaborate ornamentation and made up in traditional face painting gather in lines to dance and sing, vying for the attentions of marriageable young women. The Guérewol occurs each year as the traditionally nomadic Wodaabe cattle herders gather at the southern edge of the Sahara before dispersing south on their dry season pastures.
The most famous gathering point for the Gerewol is In-Gall in northwest Niger, where a large festival, market and series of clan meetings take place for both the Wodaabe and the pastoral Tuareg people. The actual dance event is called the Yaake, while other less famous elements—bartering over dowry, competitions or camel races among suitors—make up the week-long Guérewol. The Guérewol is found wherever Wodaabe gather: from Niamey, to other places the Wodaabe travel in their transhumance cycle, as far afield as Chad, northern Cameroon and Nigeria.
