Who would ever think that in Chad, in the middle of the driest and most desolate savannah, a men’s beauty contest is held every year?

A surreal landscape, for a surreal event, in a surreal atmosphere. This is the Gerewol of the nomadic Bororo herders. The most beautiful boys, after a careful make-up session with natural pigments, which enhance the whiteness of their teeth and eyes, wear their typical ornaments of cauris, colourful fabrics, ostrich feathers and start a real beauty contest, whose jury is represented by the girls of the clan. Under the influence of natural excitants, the youngsters begin to dance non-stop with slow, hypnotic movements, accompanying themselves with even more hypnotic verses and grimaces highlighting their teeth and eyes, reaching a kind of trance. Definitely one of the most impressive traditional events in the whole of Africa.

In addition, in this exceptional departure, we will go up to the Guera massif to meet the Hadjarai people, famous for the ancient Margay animist cults.