Guérewol is an annual courtship festival held by the Wodaabe, nomadic cattle herders of Niger and the wider Sahel. Men spend hours applying red, yellow and white pigments, arranging beads and feathers, then dance in long lines while singing and exaggerating their expressions. The display can continue for hours beneath the desert sun. Women act as judges, selecting the men they find most beautiful. In Guérewol, male beauty is neither private nor effortless. It is painted, rehearsed and subjected to public review.
Guérewol
