Travellers in Africa become source of curiosity for tribe who are fascinated by their tattoos and phones

SWNS 2022-11-07

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Video shows two travellers in Africa becoming the source of curiosity for a tribe who are fascinated by their tattoos and phones - and take their 'first selfie'. Footage shows young women from the Wodaabe and Fulani tribes in Niger encountering the backpackers. One traveller, named Chris, is seen showing a tattoo on his forearm that depicts a person from Ethiopia. As he reveals more tattoos the two women inspecting his arm reach out and touch his skin where the piece is. The women's attention then quickly turns to the filmer's phone and their new curiosity is shown when they experience a selfie video. Filmer and full-time travel blogger Tom Grond, who runs the blog TravelTomTomwas venturing through Africa and attended the Gerewol Festival in the Niger desert. The event celebrates the Wodaabe people belonging to the Fulbe ethnic group and many people from across Africa attend each year. Tom said: "On the Gerewol festival deep in the desert of Niger tribes come together once a year to celebrate and perform their rituals. "Most of the people here flock from nomadic desert communities all to one place. "For some of them, it takes weeks to get to the festival, so the people you meet are very not aware of the modern world and its technology. "So when the ladies saw the tattoos they got really obsessed and couldn't believe their eyes. "They had clearly never seen anything like this and while recording the video the ladies also kept staring at the phone and were very curious about it. "When I showed them that I was recording they got so surprised to see themselves on the screen. "It was an amazing encounter to run into people that still are amazed by something which is completely normal to us." Tom explained that he was not able to properly communicate with the tribes, despite having some translators and guides, so he could not confirm if this was the first time they saw a tattoo or smartphone. "It is almost impossible to communicate with the tribe people as they all speak their own language and no English is spoken anywhere. "We had some guides that spoke the tribe language but they were not around, unfortunately. "However, their reactions say it all. It was just a normal video recording and when they saw their own faces on the phone they were very surprised." Tom quit his job in 2012 to become a full-time travel blogger setting up his website and has since travelled to 138 countries.

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