Wodaabe Fathering

WODAABE FATHERING: If the pygmy is considered the best dad in the world, then the Wodaabe Fulani father doesn’t fall too far behind in ranking.  One saying among the Fulani men is “you start living when you’ve been pooped on by a child”… hmmm… In many Wodaabe communities, childrearing falls completely in their hands for large parts of the year. Read more…

Mother or Child

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…

That’s a Camp?

THAT’S A CAMP?  This little boy and his mother were the first Wodaabe that I met in the Azawak.  In fact, their camp was the first Wodaabe camp I had ever seen.  When I met them, they were sitting together in the middle of grasses underneath the blazing sun.  The mother was mending a shirt, and her son sat patiently next to her, intently observing my every move.  Read more…