Cultural Space of the Yaaral and Degal

The cultural space of the Yaaral and Degal includes the vast pastoral lands of the Fulani people (Fula people) in the inland Niger Delta, where the Fulani people annually celebrate the return of herds of cattle after crossing the arid lands of the Sahel and the floodplains of the Niger River inland. The festivities take place twice a year and always on Saturday, which is an auspicious day in the beliefs of the Fulani people, while the exact date is determined according to the condition of the pasture and the level of the river.
These festivities are a form of cultural expression, as competitions are organized to choose the most beautiful, decorated herd, and herdsmen recite pastoral poems that tell of their adventures during the months of long journeys, and young women wear their finest clothes and jewelry to congratulate the herdsmen in song.

---

Cultural Space of the Yaaral and Degal was inscribed in 2008 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Mali.