- Full of Fun
On the Banks of the Niger Mopti, Mali 1997
These young Mandingo women were washing clothes across from our motel in Mopti. I am pretty sure they are Mandingo as the tribe members are tall and muscular. These girls look very lithe and athletic and they look full of fun.
They are showing a lot of leg. I’d been told that African women do not show their legs. Maybe it is ok when you are washing clothes. African women seem to be very confident in their femininity. When they are young and often when they are not so young, they sashay instead of walk. I compared a young and very pretty European woman to a Malian woman as they walked down the street. The European woman was much stiffer in her gait, her body language said, ‘don’t look at me’. But, it seemed to me, the African women loved attention and sauntered along in a way that they got all the attention possible. It was their due for being so lovely to look at.