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http://www.niger1.com/niger.html
Hello this is concerning the cure salee page on your blog
http://kaganof.com/kagablog/2007/03/14/cure-salee/
I am the webmaster for niger1 com a website about Niger and all countries where the Niger river pass trought
I would like to know have you been at the cure salee in Niger
are you promoting pictures, what is the whole purpose of you writing that page
Visit my page about Niger http://www.niger1.com/niger.html
March 14, 2007
cure salèe
Held annually at the end of the rainy season on the fringes of the Sahara, the vibrant ‘Cure Salée’ festival celebrates local nomadic tradition in InGall, Niger in September 2003. The festival, literally meaning ‘Salt Cure’, brings together Niger’s nomadic groups. Friends and family members catch up on the news of the past year. Conducting business and barter before they continue their journey back to more fertile regions. The festival is a time to arrange weddings, to strengthen social bonds and to celebrate.
It is the men who show off among the Wodaabe nomads. The Yaake dance is a magical beauty contest exhibiting male beauty, attractiveness and love. The Yaake resembles a long parade of men wearing make-up, standing side-by-side. Flashing the whiteness of their eyes and teeth, the men dance like reeds swaying in the wind. The dancers stretch up into the air, yearning to fly like a bird. The air is softly filled with their strange throat vibrations.
The dancers all try to impress young women. Women stand shyly in a crowd at a distance. The most beautiful man will be decided by a jury of women based on contest values of elegance, grace and beauty. A ‘love marriage’ may sometimes develop from the dances. Polygamy is acceptable for both men and women. A ‘wife stealing’ may last for a night, few months or a lifetime. If the bond lasts some time, the couple will undergo marriage rituals. The man will be a hero in his own family and clan while his bride’s clan will despise him for their loss of a valuable and pretty young woman.
