Niger Face Painting

BBC One's TV series Human Planet concluded last Thursday. The camerawork was stunning and often extremely dangerous to film. Shame about the script. Stills photographer Timothy Allen accompanied the film crews. His terrific photo record of the series has been turned into an unmissable BBC slide show by Paul Kerley (title link). The image shows a Wadabee Fula warrior competing in the Gerewol Ceremony, a male beauty contest in Niger. The competitors don their finest gear, paint their faces and jump up and down, flashing their teeth and the whites of their eyes. The judges are the three prettiest girls of the host village, who choose the winner with great care because his prize is to sleep with one of them. The warriors' wives don't object, but tend to look smug when hubby loses. If he wins, his wife gets to bask in his reflected glory. So it's a win-win situation for the wives. Why worry? (Channel 5 executives take note: a new panel game judged by women? The XX Factor?)