Can you identify this African Muslim tribe?

March 9, 2008 2:47 PM

Asking for a friend: "A few years ago I saw a documentary about an African Muslim tribe. They were notable because the men cover their faces while the women do not. The only other thing I remember is that the men participate in a ceremony where they adorn themselves to the extreme (paint, beads etc) and line up for the women to chose. There is also apparently a custom where men will abduct wives from another tribe. The location might have been Mali but I'm really not sure. Can anyone identify this group?"
posted by carabiner to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

The Tuareg.
posted by etaoin at 2:54 PM on March 9, 2008

Could it have been the tribe in this post?
posted by dilettante at 3:02 PM on March 9, 2008

The Tuareg appear in Michael Palin's Sahara documentary but I don't recall the men covering their faces.
posted by user92371 at 3:03 PM on March 9, 2008

Best answer: The Tuareg match the face covering, but not the ceremony where the men try to attract women. The Wodaabe have the ceremony. Both were apparently in Michael Palin's Sahara. Could your friend have conflated the two tribes?
posted by dilettante at 3:08 PM on March 9, 2008

The Fulani, I think. The Boy Georges of the Sahara.
posted by zadcat at 3:38 PM on March 9, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! My friend was thinking of the Wodaabe tribe, but said knowing of the Tuareng was an added bonus.
posted by carabiner at 3:56 PM on March 9, 2008

That's the Wodaabe...the Tuareg don't have that ceremony.
posted by kenzi23 at 9:14 PM on March 19, 2008