Wodaabe People
Origins / Location : Sahel region of West and Central Africa.
Names : Bororo / Mbororo
Languages : Fulah / Bagirmi Fulfulde / Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde
Religion : Syncretic Islam (a blend of Islamic teachings with their own pre-Islamic traditional beliefs and animistic practices.)
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Three Wodaabe men perform their ritual dance the ‘Yaake’, where every element and gesture has a significance.Photo: Tariq Zaidi
Wodaabe © Trevor Cole
A long line of Wodaabe men and boys, wearing bejeweled leather tunics and sparkling crowns and feathers Photo: Tariq Zaidi
Two Wodaabe men stand outside in front of a perforated wall.
Wodaabe men. Photographed 1997 in Niger.
A Wodaabe man preparing for a Yaake demonstration. Niger, 1997.
A Wodaabe man. Niger, 1997
At the Gerewol festival, a Wodaabe maiden coyly reviews the contestants to choose a winner. Photographed 1997 in Niger.
A Wodaabe man. Niger, 1997
Wodaabe-Mbororo
A young Wodaabe maiden coyly judges the contestants at the Gerewol festival. Photographed 1997 in Niger
A Wodaabe woman Photographed 1997 in Niger.
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
Wodaabe-Mbororo
A Wodaabe man. Niger, 1997
Young Wodaabe women. Photographed 1997 in Niger.
Participants in the Gerewol beauty contest, from the Wodaabe ethnic group. The eventual winner is the tall young man in the middle. Photographed 1997 in Niger.