Looking into a small mirror, a man of the Wodaabe tribe, also known as Bororo, is painting his face
to participate in a Yakey dance,
which doubles as a male beauty contest among members of a clan. Later, during
the rains, when pasture will be abundant enough for those nomads’ cattle to
stop moving for a while, the clans will gather and compete in a Gerewol dance. This will be a much more
demanding beauty contest. This time it will oppose clans against clans, and the
less-than-handsome will be ridiculed by the elders. The good-looking ones will
hook up with potential wives.
The Wodaabe canon of beauty
demands light skin, thin nose and lips, high forehead, and mostly shining white
teeth and eyeballs. This invites much make-up.
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