MOTHER OR CHILD: This Wodaabe child that I met at a Gerwul ceremony is already a mother. She is so young, and yet participates in this festival where she may find another man to elope with if she is displeased with her first husband. She seems so young to me, with my western perspective. And yet, ironically, it seems to me that Wodaabe girls marry a little later than their Touareg counterparts. While they might be betrothed as early as 14, they may also marry as late as 16. Read more…
