The first wife a Wodaabe man marries must be through an arranged marriage, or teegal . After that, he may choose up to three more wives. However, because physical beauty is so important to the Wodaabe, a husband, if not handsome, will allow his wife to sleep with a handsome man, so that she will bear a handsome child. In fact, to ensure a child's future beauty, a mother will mold the skin and bones of her infant by pressing the nose, or stretching the limbs so that it may look more attractive.
Wodaabe women have beauty traditions of their own.
And to ward off evil spirits, they dot their temples, cheeks and lips with geometric tattoos. Kohl lines their dark eyes. Leisure time is a luxury for the Wodaabe, and so rather than fashioning their jewelry themselves, Wodaabe commission their jewelry from others, such as the Tuareg , who live nearby. To spend time on such things is too time-restrictive, they reason. Miss Manners would be fascinated by some of the rigid Wodaabe social customs.