Warning – this article contains graphic content. It’s not for those with a weak stomach.
While visiting Bôkôlô, we were lucky to witness a unique ritual. We were sitting under a tree with the old men, chatting about water problems, when we heard drums on the other side of the village. We walked over to see this remarkable tradition:
(video)
Throughout West Africa, many Fulani have facial tattoos as a sign of their cultural identity. In Mali, women tattoo their mouth and lips, a tradition known as “Tchoodi”.
On this particular day, three girls received Tchoodi tattoos.
Natural ink is spread on the lips, and the skin is repeatedly pricked with a needle, imbedding the pigment in the skin. The process causes immense swelling.
Fully conscious, she remains calm throughout the process. Her stoicism is a marker of her bravery.
Mother and daughter, both of whom performed Tchoodi when they were younger.
Fatimata explained that girls must perform Tchoodi to avoid the mockery of their peers.
While the practice is certainly painful and may seem brutal to outsiders, the Pulaku Project doesn’t aim to judge what’s good or bad. We’re here to observe and document the richness of Fulani culture, and the Tchoodi tradition certainly falls into that category. As one woman, explained, “there is no place for fear in our culture… we are proud to display our identity.” Much like the Goja Ceremony that we documented in Benin, this tradition is often criticized, but it remains an integral aspect of Malian Fulani culture.
Hi !
These young and beautiful girls are extremely courageous and they deserve congratulations from us. But, I would like to know if these women are aware about HIV disease or not? I think tabitaal-pulaagu of Mali should tell them about the risk of contamination whith the blood which can happen during this tatoo’s ceremony. Thanks.
On est fièr et chaque éthnie doit respecter la tradion des autres éthnies.
Nous sommes peulhs ne signifie pas que nous existont simplement parmi les etres
vivants…..! Non ça signifierait malgré la dispertion que nous sommes riche surtout en ce qui
concerne des connaissances ,grandeur d’ame et des secrets tradionnels mysterieux. De sorte
que les restes ont duent mal à savoir et connaitre la réalité et la potentialité qui se
cachent dans cettes connaissances cette grandeur d’ame et ces secrets mystiques qui sont
cachés dans le : (NOUS SOMMES PEULHS)
Merci pour le message ! Nous espérons que ces histoires contribueront à la fierté du peuple Peul.
-Christoph et Guida
As a RPCV from Senegal, having lived in a Pulaar du Nord (Toucouleur) village, I think it’s important to note all of the opportunities for infection and transmission of disease afforded by traditional tattooing. It is incredibly painful, and depending on the community, it is not a choice. Girls who cry can be mocked for the rest of their lives because “they were not brave.”
I always laughed when women told me I should get my lips and gums tattooed (just my lips and gums because I’m young and the larger tattoos are no longer in fashion where I lived). It is wonderful to have traditions, but it is also important to recognize the dangers of those traditions and the meaning of group identity when it is a forced identity.
Pulaars have so many rich and wonderful traditions. I hope that this tradition will be safe (not with a dirty stone fished out of an old woman’s pocket) and that girls can choose it, not when they are 10 or 11 and pushed forward by their grandmothers, but when they can decide how they want to display their group identity and permanently decorate their bodies.
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