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The Tuareg : Blue Men of the Sahara

Algeria, Tuareg Cavalryman,1960

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT F. SISSON

The Tuareg language, a branch of the

Berber languages, has an estimated 1.2

million speakers. About half this number is

accounted for by speakers of the Eastern

dialect (Tamajaq, Tawallammat). Most

Tuareg live in the Saharan parts of Niger,

Mali, and Algeria. Being nomadic, they

move constantly across national borders,

and small groups of Tuareg also live in

southeastern Algeria, southwestern Libya

and northern Burkina Faso, and a small

community in northern Nigeria.

Tuareg People

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The Tuareg are "largely matrilineal".Tuareg women

have high status compared with their Arab

counterparts. Other distinctive aspects of Tuareg

culture include clothing, food, language, religion,

arts, astronomy, nomadic architecture, traditional

weapons, music, films, games, and economic

activities.

In Tuareg society women do not traditionally wear

the veil, whereas men do. The most famous Tuareg

symbol is the Tagelmust (also called éghéwed),

referred to as a Cheche (pronounced "Shesh"), an

often indigo blue-colored veil called Alasho. The

men's facial covering originates from the belief that

such action wards off evil spirits. It may have related

instrumentally from the need for protection from

the harsh desert sands.

--Wiki Pedia

3Photo by Esam Omran Al-FetoriPhoto by Henrietta Bulter

There are thought to be more than a million Tuareg people, separated into different family groups.

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The camels are of vital importance in the Sahara, and are often the only thing a man is left with when he gets divorced.

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Women keep the tent and all the possessions when they split, including the domestic animals which the tribe relies on to survive.

Photo by Henrietta Bulter

A Tuareg man in a traditional indigo veil, which is likely to leave his face with a blue mark across his skin. 8

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It is the men who cover up their faces, while the women are happy to show off their faces - although they often cover their hair.

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For a Tuareg man, it is highly shameful to eat in front of his mother-in-law, who commands great respect.

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The Tuareg have travelled across the Sahara for more than 1,000 years, the camels leading the way to fresh pastures.

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Traditional way of transporting salt

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The 19th Ghat Festival in Tripoli , December 2013 In the annual event

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A female murzuq band member wears a traditional costume of highly coloured clothing and a headpiece adorned with buttons and shells.

Photo by Esam Omran Al-Fetori

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The 19th Ghat Festival in Libya , December 2013 In the annual event

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Touaregs at the Festival au Desert near Timbuktu, Mali

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A diagram of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina is one of the treasures found among thousands of ancient manuscripts.

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August 25, 2015 王文堯 Kaohsiung Taiwan R.O.C All photos were taken from Daily Mail, National Ggeographic,Trip Down Memory Lane…..Internet,ect. THE END 59Photo by Brent Stirton