Niger’s nomadic herders get together to celebrate cultural ties
Al Jazeera
The annual Cure Salee festival bringing together Tuareg and Wodaabe pastoralists marks the end of the rainy season.
For 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.
