https://www.jimmynelson.com/people/wodaabe
With a mobile studio in hand we make our introduction to the Woodaabe.
The nomadic Wodaabe community belong
to the Fulani ethnic group, who are distributed across at least ten
North-African countries. Chad is home to many of the Wodaabe. Far from
the coast and land-locked, it nestles next to the great Saharan Desert.
The home environment of the Wodaabe people is called the wuro.
This is a land of stark beauty,
unique pride and deep colours – a gift of its proximity to the desert.
More than a hundred languages are spoken in this country of an estimated
14.5 million people.
Wodaabe›Go to tribe
Chad○Go to journey ›
Wodaabe, Gerewol, Chad
Preparations for the Gerewol
festival are at the end of the rainy season in September. Once every
year the Woodabe gather their different nomadic clans on the central
plains of Chad. To ensure healthy mixed bloodlines, a love festival is
organized. Girls and boys prepare to show, flirt, dance and sing their
cultural heritage into the future.
Wodaabe›Go to tribe
Chad○Go to journey ›
Wodaabe, Gerewol, Chad
No journey is ever straightforward.
Having safely arrived in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, we are
immediately deported into the bush to look for the Woodabe. We were
warned the rain season was late this year and the journey could be
sticky, but nothing prepared us for how sticky it really became.
Wodaabe›Go to tribe
Chad○Go to journey ›
Wodaabe, Gerewol, Chad
A long, long day. With excited
anticipation we get up at 4.30 am to move into the village to witness
the preparations for the first day of the Gerewol.
Wodaabe›Go to tribe
Chad○Go to journey ›
Wodaabe, Gerewol, Chad
Days of practice, a year of waiting
and the highlight of the Gerewol festivities begin. With the men in
complete costume and feathers at their finest, three women are given the
privilege to choose the winners.
Wodaabe›Go to tribe
Chad○Go to journey ›
Wodaabe, Gerewol, Chad
With a mobile studio in hand we make our introduction to the Woodaabe.
Wodaabe›Go to tribe
Chad○Go to journey ›
Wodaabe, Gerewol, Chad
After the men have exhausted
themselves the women take over. Colourfully dressed, deeply tattooed and
adored in gold they kindly mock the vanity of the males, but not after
they have seen themselves on camera.
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