Looking into a small mirror in his
hand, a man of the Wodaabe tribe, also known as Bororo, is checking the
whiteness of his teeth and eyes before joining 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 in
search of grass 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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