Cure Salée

Cure Salée is the most famous traditional festival held in Niger, where Tuareg and Wodaabe people from the north gather in the town of Ingall to celebrate the end of the rainy season. It usually happens on the last weekend of September, when the rains stop. Cure Salée is translated as 'Salt Cure' from French (the official language of Niger). The clans gathered in the salt flats and pools to graze their cattle and goats in preparation for the coming dry season. This is also a time of traditional courtship, and many weddings are held during this time. The government has sponsored this famous traditional festival for centuries and now heralds that it is a major tourist attraction.

The government of Niger has tried to promote Cure Salée, create a tourist festival (sponsored by major international corporations such as Coca-Cola) for Western visitors, and use traditional Cure Salée's multi-ethnic heritage to promote "a celebration of social cohesion in Niger.” Formal involvement also helps to place greater emphasis on the common culture of the rest of Niger: pop bands electricity, beauty contests, and sometimes forced endings of other rituals.

• Organization time: September every year
• Location: Ingall town, Niger