lenten journey, day 32 — a prayer for the wodaabe

Once a year, the Wodaabe nomads of Niger and Chad in north central Africa stage a sort of male courtship ritual. The Wodaabe earnestly believe them- selves to be the most beautiful people on earth, and this is a chance for all the young men to show off their good looks to the ladies. Some men rub yellow powder into their skin to make it lighter. Some accent their eyes and lips by drawing around them with black kohl. The hair at the front of the head is shaved off to give the appearance of a high forehead (very desirable). And a line is painted down the nose to make it look longer. Then, for the ultimate sex-appeal, they open their eyes very wide and roll them down or to the side, emphasizing the whitest part of the eyeball.

All this frivolity contrasts with the stark reality of the Wodaabes’ lives as nomads in a harsh desert environment. Their main food is milk from large herds of cattle, and the Wodaabe will often walk more than 1,000 miles in a year with the cows, searching for water and pasture to keep the milk production strong. When drought conditions last too long, the milk dries up, and the Wodaabe starve.

The Wodaabe practice folk islam, a blend of islamic tradition and animist belief in the sprit world. They are extremely superstitious; in fact, the word “Wodaabe” means “people of the taboo.” For example, it is taboo to give Wodaabe children names until they are 12 years old. Wodaabe mothers are not allowed to talk to the oldest child in the family or call them by name. And all Wodaabe are forbidden from looking people in the eye while speaking to them.

There are about 100 believers among the 100,000 Wodaabe people. These believers often have a difficult time telling their fellow Wodaabes about Jesus, because of their extremely nomadic lifestyle. One village elder likened their ways to those of “birds in a bush,” always flitting here and there in an effort to survive.

How comforting it must be for Wodaabes who believe in Jesus to know that they have a true and lasting home with God. And how wonderful that God’s word is clear about beauty: people may think a high forehead is stunning, but the Lord sees beyond the façade and into the heart. And the beauty of a heart that knows Jesus is beyond compare!

Beautiful Savior, I pray that the Wodaabe people would embrace the everlasting love that you give so freely. I pray that they would see your beauty for what it is: a radiance that outshines all others. Even though the Wodaabes’ lives shift and waver on a daily basis, there is a steadfast permanence about your grace. Would you reveal that truth to them? Would you enable more Wodaabe believers to share the beautiful news of Jesus with their fellow nomads so that taboos and superstition no longer control their lives? Lord, please look after Wodaabes’ physical needs, too. Grant them plentiful water and pasture for their herds so that they won’t be hungry or sick. I ask this on my knees. Yes, and amen.

The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. — 1 Samuel 16:7b

One thing I ask of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple. — Psalm 27:4