Assane Dieye, the manager of the Menenek flock, with a ladoum ram named Ballon d’Or



Sheep are an important commodity in Senegal, where more than half the population lives in the countryside and many city dwellers retain a close connection to their native villages.

Sylvain Cherkaoui took his mobile studio to meet some of the proud owners who posed with their animals

Exhibited as part of Dak’Art 2022 Biennale Off at Pieds Tanqués in Dakar, Senegal
All photographs by Sylvain Cherkaoui/Panos Pictures



The ladoum sheep, a cross between Mauritanian touabir and Malian bali-bali varieties, has become an important part of Senegalese culture over the past 20 years of breeding


Measuring up to 1.2 metres in height and weighing the equivalent of three grown men, the rams can fetch up to £70,000 in a country where 40% of the population lives on about £1.50 a day


Sherif, a 28-month-old ladoum ram, belongs to Seydi Gadiaga, who runs the Keur Mame Seydi flock

Beauty pageants on TV rate ladoum sheep, offering substantial prize money. Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, is rumoured to own several of the animals

During the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, hundreds of thousands of sheep are slaughtered and eaten at family feasts, but fully grown ladoum are too valuable to be sacrificed. Criminals have cottoned on to the high value of these creatures and sheep theft is becoming an increasing worry for breeders and owners






The photographer Sylvain Cherkaoui’s mobile studio


https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2022/jun/15/senegals-highly-prized-ladoum-rams-in-pictures
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