
It’s the world’s most spectacular beauty pageant – that is more fiercely contested than Miss World.

At stake? The chance to go down in folklore – and to win the heart of a new wife.

Because this competition is not for women, but for the men of the Islamic polygamous Wodaabe tribe - an ancient group of nomadic cattle herders who are the vainest and most beautiful people on earth, so they say.

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Beauty: The Wodaabe tribe, who live in the Sahel, come together each year for arguably the most intense beauty pageant in the world

Unusual: The major difference with this pageant is that it is the women judging the men - who are wearing makeup and dresses

Dedication: It can take as long as six hours to get your face ready for the dance at the Gerewol festival, held in September

The most important date in the Wodaabe calendar is September at the end of the rainy season when sexually liberated tribe gathers ahead of their transhumance migration – to celebrate Gerewol.

Most of the time the tribe spend their time in smaller family groups travelling across the harsh Sahel desert, mainly in Niger. They can also be found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria.

After months of trekking through miles of arid desert, Gerewol is the chance for them to come together for a traditional catch up – a festival of music and dance, which last for seven days and nights.

Its location is usually kept a closely guarded secret - and is only revealed days before the event is due to take place.

And by far the most eye-catching of all the dances is the Yaake – a mating call for men to battle it out for sexual supremacy, perform in front of three female judges.

In the ultimate test of male prowess, the Yakke is the highlight of Gerewol, where men’s status as sex gods are set in stone or lie in tatters.

Culture: The Wodaabe believe bright eyes, white teeth and a sharp nose make a man beautiful - and the make up enhances these beatures

Vain?: They believe they are the most beautiful people in the world, and the men carry mirrors at all times to check their appearance

Fame: The aim is to win the Yaake, a dance judged by three women, with the prize being years of acclaim - and your choice of wife

Liberty: The women, like those in fellow nomadic tribe the Taureg, have relative amounts of sexual freedom

The men spend six hours preparing themselves for their big moment when, like peacocks they can’t dance and show off in all their finery.

They paint red clay onto their faces, applying thick, black eyeliner to highlight the whites of their eyes and matching lipstick to show off their teeth.

WHAT MAKES THE WODAABE MEN BEAUTIFUL? Tall and athletic, with ostrich plumes and pompoms emphasise height

A narrow face painted red

Eyes which are wide and lined black eyes

A symmetrical face, which is enhanced with black, yellow and white patterns

A Roman nose, with a white clay arrow stripe to look more streamlined

Long braids and cowrie shells, which symbolise fertility and wealth

White and regular teeth

Good dancer Source: BBC Advertisement

As part of the ritual they bare their teeth, which can look like an aggressive grimace.

To finish the look they put white ostrich feathers in their hair, which makes them appear taller – and they have a white stripe painted down their noses to make them look sharper.

The time is worth it: when they step out in front of the expert eyes of the women who line up to watch the display, they are truly spectacular.

During the dance the men stand shoulder to shoulder and slowly move in a circle.

The men are judged by three of the tribe’s most beautiful women, chosen, normally, because their fathers have won previously won the Yaake.

Each female judge gets to choose her own winner – and winning brings with it acclaim and their pick of women in the tribe.

Watching on are also the tribe’s most eligible women who are looking for their next husband.

If they like a man, the women can chose to be 'stolen' by one of the better-looking men, leaving their husbands behind.

Those who wish to be stolen wait until their favourite man passes by and tap them on the shoulder.

'We love to go and watch the men at the Gerewol - one look and they know that you like them,' one of the women told the documentary ‘Wodaabe Dance of Warriors’.

The fact that the women watching may already have a husband is not important to this polygamous tribe – because in the Wodaabe women have all the sexual freedom – and are allowed more than one husband.

Women have all the power when it comes to sex in the Wodaabe tribe.

Unmarried girls are allowed to have sex whenever and with whomever they wish.

Their first marriage is traditionally arranged by their families when the couple are children – called koogal – or they can marry because of love and attractions, called teegal.

A bride stays with her husband until she becomes pregnant, after which goes to live with her mother.

She delivers the baby at her mother's home when she becomes a 'boofeydo', which literally means 'someone who has committed an error'.

While she is boofeydo, she is not allowed to have any contact with her husband, and he is not allowed to express any interest in either her or the child.

After two to three years, she is permitted to visit her husband, but it is still taboo that she should live with him or bring the child with her; this only becomes permissible when her mother has managed to purchase all the items that are necessary for her home.

But by then the woman maybe ready for her second marriage - likely to be men of their own choosing at the Gerewol - and it is all about the looks.

Wodaabe, who speak the Fula language and herd long-horned Zebu cattle, is the vainest of the African tribes and consider themselves the most beautiful.

No self-respecting man, it is said, would be without his pocket mirror.

'A woman with an ugly husband will try to escape,' a tribal woman observed.

'If she doesn't, it is because she really loves her husband!'

Unlike the women, the men have relatively little control when it comes to sex.

Choices: The women, who are married, could chose to be 'stolen' by one of the better-looking men, leaving their husbands behind

Eye-catching: They have their standards of beauty, including up to eight earrings in each ear, and tattooing their faces

Fearful: If a man is worried his wife might chose to be stolen, he may keep her away from the Gerewol

Home: The Wodaabe live in the Sahel, an inhospitable desert which stretches across Africa

They have no say in whether a woman will run off with them - and even less on whether their own wives will leave them for another man.

For this reason not every man allows his wife attend the Gerewol.

'We go to the Gerewol for pleasure,' a Wodaabe male told National Geographic. 'If I get a woman then fine, it's a bonus.'

Another, however, was far keener on the wife stealing.

'We all wear make up and dresses. But what I like most is finding other women and taking them into the bush.'

One man proudly revealed he had stolen 30 wives in his life - but it is not all fun and games.