Meet the makeup-wearing men of the Wodaabe tribe who have wife-stealing contests

Universally, women are the ones who wear makeup with hopes of impressing and attracting young men, but this is not the case with the Wodaabe tribe found around Chad, Niger, Northeast Nigeria, and Cameroon.

The Woodable tribe is part of the Fulani ethnic group and known as the world’s vainest tribe and we can see why.

Every day, before going out to look after their herds of cattle, the men put on their best clothes and carry a mirror about to check how they look.

Another reason why this tribe is so vain is the Gerewol fertility contest. It is also known as a wife stealing competition.

They compete for female attention [trevorcole] Pulse Nigeria

In this competition, men wear brightly coloured makeup and eyeliner in an attempt to attract female counterparts. The judgement is based on height, white teeth, white eyes, and a slender build.

The judges of the beauty contest are young girls. The criterion for being part of the jury is that you must have seen your menstrual period.

Here is an interesting thing about this tribe; they are polyamorous. This means that they do not practice monogamy, so you can have sex with other people even if you are married.

Most of these people participating in the competition already have husbands or wives but the woman or girl who chooses them will have sex with them in the bush.

In some cases, the woman or girl might already be married but decide to be remarried to the man she chooses from the competition lineup or make it a one-time encounter.