Wodaabe Tribe: Where men are allowed to steal the wives of other’s whilst performing a dance ritual

Marriage is sacred and as far as most societies are concerned, it usually has to do with a bond between a man and a woman. While some societies and cultures permit the access of men to more than one wife, others do not but yet, one can say that for a man to have any form of extra relationship often described as Polygamy, he still needs to form a bond with whomever he chooses to have such relationship in a marriage-like procedure. The sacred status of marriage means that a woman and a man or sometimes several women and one man once in a bond of marriage must remain in it and cannot be taken away or “stolen” by another, at least not easily.

However, what seems proper in some cultures differ in other cultures. This is the case in the famous stories that come out of the tribes in Africa. According to sources, there is a particular Tribe where the right to marriage has to be renewed. In this Tribe, it is believed or perhaps perceived that though a man and a woman remain married, there is a need for women, to assess other men and perhaps give in to their urges to have other men and leave their husbands. This is an interesting way to think, an interesting culture indeed that seems to place priority on the feelings of women in marriage, this society gives chances to women to decide to stay in their marriage or to simply leave and find a better option.

This Tribe known as the Waadobe Tribe performs this sacred and quite interesting traditional dance known as the Waadobe Courtship dance. The Waadobe Tribe can be found or referenced as Fulani tribes that can be found in parts of Africa, especially in countries such as Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Sudan. There are known as nomadic true with very interesting cultural practices, beyond their said accepted religion of Islam, their basic cultural practices define their actions and their ideologies. Perhaps this said culture is responsible for how they view marriages and the liberty some communities made up of people from this Tribe, give to women to choose and reassess their decisions in men.

The process described above happens during a Dance or perhaps what one would call pageantry, where men in the community dress up as well as they can, sometimes with paintings on the faces and beads on their necks and hands. All these are done to ensure that they appeal to their female counterparts as they dance and move around in line. This beautiful display that might seem or sound quite strange to others allows women to pick their husband’s from the crowd of men who are trying quite hard to appeal to the women who are often placed as judges. During this dance, women are given special treatments, and they watch, sit or standby as they judge and determine who would be a right fit for them.

Interestingly, while these women judge and try to pick which of the men appeals to them the most, these men are expected to simply act their best. Usually, they are seen as appealing as long as they can make their eyeballs known by trying very hard to extend it beyond their socket, as well as to smile quite hard to ensure their fine set of white teeth is seen and observed by the women who are to judge them. What seems even more interesting is the fact that it really doesn’t matter if these said women are married or not, what matters is that they walk amongst several men on this special day and find who appeals to them. Of course, it is okay if their husbands remain attractive to them and they choose to be with him still.

However, if they choose a different man regardless of their status as married women, they are often allowed to choose and pick with a few conditions though. The first condition is that while the Supposed interested male tries to get the bride of another, he must do it subtly without alarming the bride’s husband else the process would be stooped. Another condition is that while winners are chosen by three judges, these men are allowed to take whoever they find interesting as long as this person also finds them interesting. It is no wonder that the Woodabe people are called or known as the “people of the taboo.”