Guérewol — The Wodaabe Men's Beauty Contest

The festival

Here, it is the men who make up for hours — and it is the women who choose. For Guérewol, the young Wodaabe, nomadic breeders of the Sahel, are tied up with red ochre, white dots and feathers, then dance the Yaake in lines for hours, rolling their eyes and showing their teeth — the ideal of Wodaabe beauty. Judges are young women: the most beautiful dancer can be born a flirt, sometimes a marriage.

The ritual is held in the wake of the Salavian Cure, the great gathering of nomadic breeders, when clans converge before the dry season transhumance — other Guérewols take place where clans gather, especially towards Dourbali, Chad.

In 2026, the Cure Salée held its 59th edition in Ingall, from Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th October, under the theme "Preserving natural resources and valuing cultural heritage for harmonious coexistence between pastoral and agro-pastoral communities" — the dates and theme were announced by the regional authorities of Agadez and relayed by the Niger Press Agency (ANP), the official agency of Niger. It is in this great gathering of nomad breeders — Tuaregs and Peuls Wodaabe — that the Guérewol deploys its Yaake dances, its songs and beauty contests judged by young women.

Festival TV , an endless exploration of festivals and festivals around the world

The festival in images

Guérewol has no official website or official page: these free documentary photos, taken in Niger during Guérewol, are those of the gathering itself — no images of another festival.

In our articles

Guéréwol of the Wodaabe (Niger) — the beauty contest where the men wear the make-up

The 10 most unusual festivals in the world

To see around the festival

Ingall is an oasis of the Irhazer plain, west of Agadez. Three stops tell the Guérewol country:

• The salt of Teguidda-n-Tessoum — north of Ingall, the salt basins of bright colours, exploited by the families by hand: this salt of the Irhazer gives its name to the Salt Cure.
• Agadez and his great mosque — the desert gate east of Ingall: the historic centre of Agadez is a UNESCO World Heritage site, dominated by the minaret of the large mosque, built in 1515 and 27 metres high.
• Pasture of the Salty Cure — the Irhazer plain itself, where the herds converge at the end of the rains: the living setting of the gathering, between Tuareg and Peul camps.