© 1996 William R. Stein
Oumarou and Halima were my favorite couple. They are of the Fulani ethnic group, a minority in a village that is predominantly Hausa. I was impressed by the degree to which Fulani husbands and wives communicate with each other. In the Hausa part of the village separation of the sexes was generally carried to great extremes, as the women's social space is inside the walls, and the men's is outside. Oumarou and his brothers herd the village's animals for a living. This picture shows them inside their small house. The pots in back were wedding gifts. They never use them but they proudly display them. Notice too the tattoo-like scarification on their faces.
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