2023-12-14 00:06:03
The annual “Gerewol” festival of the Wadaba tribe in Africa is a unique and extraordinary event that showcases a complete role reversal in gender beauty rituals. The predominantly Muslim tribe, which lives as nomadic shepherds in Niger, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Chad, turns traditional gender norms upside down during this festival.
At the “Gerewol” festival, it is the men who spend hours in front of the mirror applying make-up, meticulously grooming their hair, and dressing up in elaborate clothing. The purpose of this elaborate beauty routine is to impress the women of the tribe and win their favor, ultimately leading to “sex behind the bushes” with the woman they choose. Surprisingly, the women are the ones who select their partners by touching the shoulder of the man they are interested in, and they can even marry them, despite being already married to another man.
The festival, also known as the “Wife Stealing Festival”, sees the men compete in front of judges who are the women of the tribe. The criteria for evaluation include height, eyes, and white teeth, which is why the men emphasize these features with the use of make-up. The men of the Wadaba tribe are known to carry mirrors with them wherever they go, prioritizing their grooming routine each morning before tending to their flocks.
During the festival, the men participate in a series of dances and performances to showcase their skills and win the attention of the women. They adorn themselves in bright colors, apply lipstick to highlight their white teeth, and use eyeliner to emphasize the whites of their eyes. Additionally, they often wear elaborate headdresses and feathers to accentuate their height and shave the hair on both sides of the forehead while braiding the rest.
The “Gerewol” festival culminates in a week-long celebration, with the party lasting until dawn the next day. The festival is a fascinating and rare display of gender roles and beauty standards within the Wadaba tribe, challenging traditional notions of beauty and gender norms. Despite being vastly different from Western beauty standards, the Wadaba tribe’s beauty rituals and the “Gerewol” festival are a testament to the diversity of cultures and practices found across the African landscape.
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