Fuddan Feet

My host family had a wedding recently, and like all cultures, a wedding means everyone must be looking their best. Part of looking your best here means dying your feet, a process called fuddan here in Wolof. I went with Hincha, my host brother’s wife, to her mother, Yama, along with Mam Tutti, my other brother’s wife. Yama had already prepared for us by cutting tape into what must have been hundreds of thin strips.

Then Yama spent the next two hours taping my feet.

While doing the first foot, they realized they forgot a very important step, especially for the “toubob.” They forgot to apply something, I have no idea what it is, to my feet to keep them from sweating. This something comes from putting these hard crystal/rock things (again no idea what they are or where they come from) in water and rubbing the sticky solution that results onto my feet.

Y-C - Yamundow Ceesay, (my Gambian name)

After taping the feet, we applied another mixture that I know really nothing about. They mixed a powder with sugar and water until it had the consistency of thick mud. Then it was applied to my feet.

Then both feet were wrapped in extra fabric, and I put some socks on over the fabric and went to bed for the night.

Waking up at 4 am the next step was to rub off the first mixture, remove the tape, and apply another. This mixture smelled very bad, but again I don’t know what it is. Its purpose was to turn the color black, but it doesn't have the same effect on white skin as on black. We applied it to my feet, rewrapped them and went to bed for a few more hours.

Finally, the next morning, my feet were finished! I washed my feet and set out into the village for all to admire them. Of course, everyone questioned why it was orange, not black, but nonetheless, they were a big hit. I’ll be rocking my new feet for the next few weeks or so.

The final result