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| The fact that men compete for women in this way is a tip-off to anthro buffs that Wodaabe are polygynous (men with many wives or female partners). The first wife a Wodaabe man marries must be through an arranged marriage, or teegal. After that, he may choose up to three more wives. However, because physical beauty is so important to the Wodaabe, a husband, if not handsome, will allow his wife to sleep with a handsome man, so that she will bear a handsome child. In fact, to ensure a child's future beauty, a mother will mold the skin and bones of her infant by pressing the nose, or stretching the limbs so that it may look more attractive. |  |
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Wodaabe women have beauty traditions of their own. They decorate their ears with several (up to eight in each ear) large rings of brass or silver. And to ward off evil spirits, they dot their temples, cheeks and lips with geometric tattoos. Kohl lines their dark eyes. Leisure time is a luxury for the Wodaabe, and so rather than fashioning their jewelry themselves, Wodaabe commission their jewelry from others, such as the Tuareg, who live nearby. To spend time on such things is too time-restrictive, they reason. Miss Manners would be fascinated by some of the rigid Wodaabe social customs. When greeting one another, for example, it is considered impolite to make eye contact (a custom many Japanese follow as well). In addition, during daylight hours, a husband's interaction with his wife is very impersonal. He may not address her by name, speak to her in an intimate way, or even hold her hand. This quiet reserve, called semteende, extends to the first and second-born children, whom the parents may not directly address at all. Not surprisingly, grandparents play a prominent role in the rearing and nurturing of children. Other aspects of their code of behavior include munyal ("patience and fortitude") and hakkilo ("care and forethought"). Little interaction with outsiders has allowed this code to be passed down through generations with little modification. Well-known for their codes and traditional ways, it is no wonder that Wodaabe means "people of the taboo." (Beckwith, 488) August, 2000 Links:
http://www.discovery.com/exp/humancanvas/atlaswodaabe.html
Bibliography: -Beckwith, Carol. "Niger's Wodaabe: People of the
Taboo." National Geographic, October 1983, 483-509. |
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