At the end of the rainy season in Chad, a clan of the M’Bororo tribe, a nomadic branch of the Fulani people, has settled in the bush around the town of Dourbali, about a hundred kilometers south of N’Djamena. They are cattle herders, and before beginning their journey south, they celebrate the Guéréwol.
In this month of October, the land is saturated with water, and the transhumance begins with the end of the rainy season. A few dozen kilometers from Dourbali, an M’Bororo clan has chosen to settle. Gouda is the chief: “We are heading towards the Chari, some go to […], others as far as […]. We follow the falling rains and the first grasses that grow. When the rainy season ends, it becomes harsh here and the climate is too dry, so we head back south.”
Before leaving the bush for the south, the clan organizes a Guéréwol, an annual celebration and a male beauty and dance contest intended to attract women eligible for marriage or love. “My name is Ali, I am a cattle herder and I am 31 years old,” introduces one of the contestants. “We buy this dye in the village and apply it to our faces for the dance.”
Beauty, Dance, and Romantic Choice
Ali and the other young men of the clan paint their faces with natural ochre-colored pigments. This highlights the fineness of their features, but especially the whiteness of their teeth and eyes, symbols of good health. Adorned with jewelry, fabrics, and colorful headdresses, the men beautify themselves to dance and sing. For several hours, they stand in lines or circles, dancing to the rhythm of their chants. They click their teeth, move their eyes frantically from left to right. Some enter a trance under the gaze of the judges—the women—who, at nightfall, will choose a husband or a lover.
It is difficult to speak to the women; they prefer to remain discreet. So, Mokhtar, a close associate of the clan, explains: “The girls, since they were little, have had close male friends with whom they dance and sing. The ceremony serves to choose the future partner. Once the ceremony is over and the choice is made, the chosen man must give an ox and a symbolic franc for the dowry. This man will become her husband. It is only at that point that they become spouses and fidelity begins. If the woman is not satisfied, she can look for another at a future ceremony.”
It is impossible to witness the women’s choice or even to know which of the dancers was selected.