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In Niger, nomadic herders gather in shadow of jihadist threat
Once a year, North Niger's traditional gateway to the Sahara is the gathering point for the Cure Salee festival of Tuareg and Wodaabe pastoralists.
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A young woman rides her donkey to attend the annual festival for nomad people called Cure Salee in Ingall, in Niger on September 16, 2021. (AFP/Michele Cattani)
F
or three days, this semi-arid patch edging the Sahara desert blooms with a riot of colours -- red, orange, blue, fuschia -- as thousands of nomadic herders don their best dress for a festival celebrating their culture.
For most of the time, the tiny oasis town of Ingall has a population of just a few hundred. But once a year North Niger's traditional gateway to the Sahara, known for its salt flats, is the gathering point for the Cure Salee festival of Tuareg and Wodaabe pastoralists.
The festival which ends on Sunday marks the end of the rainy season, when herders bring their animals to graze -- and where they meet old friends, exchange news and reinforce cultural ties and traditions.
"Every year we come, we meet breeders from Zinder, Tahoua, Tilia, from all over Niger," says Banwo Marafa, 46, dressed in a purple polished-cotton robe topped by a long white turban.
"We've known each other for a long time. We get together every year with music and dance. It's a big party."
This year's is even bigger, he said, because last year's gathering was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
'Before we were free'
