Photographer & Filmmaker
Colourful dress in the desert
… My time in Niger didn’t start as planned. After 4 days travelling from Ethiopia, via London to pick up a new camera, I arrived in the capital Niamey with some new bags under my eyes. Unfortunately, they were the only personal bags I’d be seeing for a few weeks since my luggage never made it with me to Africa. Experience has taught me always to carry my cameras as hand luggage, so it was a minor setback. My schedule for rendezvousing with the rest of the team near Lake Chad was very tight, so there was no time to wait for the next flight to arrive. It wasn’t all bad news though – in Lost luggage I discovered a bag belonging to our cameraman Toby, which had been sitting there for 3 weeks whilst he had been travelling across the Sahara on another shoot. The same thing had happened to him as it turned out, so I acted as courier and took it with me on the 2 day journey to hook up with him and the rest of the crew in the east. By the time I arrived at our meeting point I was definitely ready for a change of clothes. My salvation came in the form of Cecilia, our producer, accompanied by our all knowing fixer who whisked me off to the local market where we managed to commandeer 2 lovely new outfits which would end up lasting me my entire time in the desert.
Well what did you expect? Jeans and a T-shirt?
When in Rome...
. . .
Interested in more stories from Niger? Try HERE
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A definite great read….
Thank you, I appreciate the feedback
Great article thank you.
To see video from this event I’m afraid you will have to wait until ‘Human Planet’ is broadcast on Television. The event is called a ‘Gerewol’ and it is a tradition of the nomadic Wodaabe tribe. The photo which appears first on the top banner of the home page of this blog is also from that event. You are right – the men compete to win the hearts of the women of the tribe by dressing up in these fantastic costumes and dancing for them. It is a truly amazing spectacle.
There is not a video for this magic event in Niger?
I saw this nomad event, recorded for TVN, “La ruta del Sahara”, a Chilean program.
If i have a good memory, this nomad event just have place aprox one time in 4 years. All the nomadic tribes meet in a place, and choose the candidates to be “the most beautiful of he world”.
The event lasts approximately 3 days, they dance and sing, and when they finish the selection, the winner has the rigth to go bed with all the womens he wants.
When a saw it, i was shock, all the melodies that they sing and beautiful sounds made with theirs own hands and feets, and the spirit of the rite, simply incredible.