Wandering through the Sahel with nomads

Trip Start Jun 03, 2003

Trip End Jun 2005

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Flag of Niger Agadez, Niger
Wednesday, September 29, 2004

After Niamey, we headed to Agadez, which is a full day away from Niamey... a very long trip. It has the feeling of a forgotten tourist town. Each child knows one French phrase, "Bon jour! Donne-moi cadeau." (Good morning, give me a gift). Agadez also hosts an ancient mosque constructed from sticks and mud- a very beautiful site. We were also lucky to be received by the Sultan of Agadez. We sat and drank cold water (which is better than gold in the desert), and he reminisced about his travels in the United States and Europe. We saw all his photos with the royal family of Holland and ambassadors from all over the world. He was remarkably down-to-earth for royalty, which seems to be the case here in Africa. I have now met two Kings, countless princes, and one sultan, and with the exception of some cocky princes, they have all seemed very grounded.
The highlight of the trip was our trip into the desert with the nomadic people of Niger known as Wadabi or Bororo

A ride with Camels

. The name means outsider or those left-behind because of all the Peulh tribes in Niger, they were the last to convert to Islam. We arrived at their camp the last night of a huge meeting of different groups. The young men dressed up in beautiful African cloths and beads, painted their faces red, and wore a turban topped by a peacock feather. Then, they stood in a circle singing and dancing for hours. They were such a mystical, beautiful sight. It seemed unreal being there.
We had gone to their camp hoping to witness a Garawal, which is the marriage ritual of the Wadabi. What we saw upon arrival was incredible, but it was not the Garawal. We were told that Garawal would take place somewhere else in a few days... so we went to the nearest town and waited... A few days later, we rented a four by four and set out again into the desert. The first night we drove for ten hours, but could not find the festival... We slept on the desert floor until the next morning. In the afternoon, we found a Wadabi camp and they were holding their Garawal that night. But, first, they were moving camp, so up on camels we went. We moved to an area with a watering hole nearby and set up camp.
That night we saw a Garawal- a real Garawal, not an orchestrated tourist event, but the real festival. Their preparation before the dance was intense- they preened and prodded, applying make-up, looking in the mirror again and again

Me and my friend the camel

. It was rather funny watching such vain young men; it is their belief that they are God's chosen beautiful people and they take that burden very seriously. During the ceremony, a row of nine young men dressed in their colorful beads and face paint, danced in a line with a fire dividing them from the young girls. They sang and danced for hours and then the girls came and chose the 'prettiest' from among them.
What is most amazing to me is that these people live year round in what has to be the harshest environment I have ever experienced. After dying of thirst in the burning sun, you just want a little shade, but there are no trees. After miles of traveling, you want to sit down and rest, but there are evil sticker bushes everywhere. They have no homes, no huts, only blankets and camels. There was a time when I romanticized the nomad lifestyle, that whole wandering soul idea. Well, I have decided, I only enjoy nomadism when it doesn't involve deserts, endless emptiness, and an angry sun. That anyone can live that way and maintain such a unique culture is incredible... and that is what made Niger worthwhile.