World Architecture Review Earth Issue 2010: Tuareg People

Daily Life

The Tuareg are classified as seminomadic, which they travel with their herds on a seasonal basis while having a home area where they can grow some food crops. Besides herding the Tuareg live from trade. They transport salt from several isolated places in the desert to market places to trade for indigo cloth, colored leather sandals, millet, teapots, glass beads, tea and other imported goods from other countries. Due to several periods of drought in the last five decades, there is a dramatically diminished in the numbers of herds. Today some Tuareg men work in tourism in Sahara desert or as workers in large towns in neighboring states.

Each Tuareg nuclear family lives in a tent or a living area. Each area is named for the married woman who owns the tent. Fathers are the disciplinarians of the family. But other men, especially maternal uncles, often play and joke with small children. Grandmothers also have a close, affectionate relationship with the children. Cousins have relaxed relationship marked by teasing and joking. Relationships with in-laws are reserved, distant and respectful.

Architecture

The Tuareg are raise camels and trade throughout the eastern Saharan desert. In necessity to their mobility, they live in tents. The traditional Tuareg live in tents supported by wooden poles and covered with mats made of goat skins or palm fiber mats. The open weave of this fiber tightens under the sun’s rays and provide both a dense shade against radiant heat during the day as well as an insulation to retain the heat generated in daytime for the cool night. The rooftop is slanted and is directed from north to south to accommodate the all season wind blown from north to south. The entrance to the tent is usually rolled up and usually being placed at the non-wind side. The rolled up opening promotes ventilation during the day and the cloth can be dropped back down to provide protection from a sudden sand storm. Inside the tent, Tuareg use colorful mats with geometric designs to cover the floor. All Tuareg’s dwelling and household materials are detachable and portable. Tuareg do not own much, only a couple of containers to cook and some leather pouches for water. They stock their belongings and food in large leather bags and hang inside the tent. A bed is a major piece of furniture in a Tuareg’s home. The husband and wife sleep on the bed, while children sleep on the ground. During a family move, the bed would be the first thing to assemble as well as the last thing to take apart.

Clothing

The Tuareg are called the blue people, because they are best recognized for the men’s practice of veiling their face with a blue cloth dyed with indigo. The veil that Tuareg men wear on their faces has several meanings: symbol of male identity and protection from evil spirits. Men begin wearing a veil at age 25. The face veil can be worn differently in different social situations. It is worn the highest (covering the nose and mouth) to express respect in the presence of chiefs, older persons, and in-laws. The veil is never removed, even in frint if family members. Women are not veiled. After Tuareg’s marriage, the women start wearing headscarf that covers their hair. In rural areas, Tuareg men wear long Islamic robes, while women wear wraparound skirts and embroidered blouses. In the towns, clothing is more varied. It includes West African tie-dyed cottons, and also fashionable European styles for some wealthier people.

Diet

Tuareg’s diet essentially consists of milk and grains. The main food that they eat twice a day is a porridge made from millet or other grains, along with large quantities of fresh milk. They also make bread and cheese from goat milk. They eat wild fruits such as dates and melons that they can collect seasonally. When available, they can have dried and pounded vegetables as well. Tuareg herders rarely eat meat, except for festive occasions, holidays, and when they have guests. On special occasions, a very sweet, thick beverage called eghajira is also consumed. It consists of pounded millet, dates, and goat cheese mixed with water. There are variations on diet in towns; however, it still consists mostly of nonmeat protein. Along the Niger River, some fish are caught and added to the Tuareg’s diet.

Education

Children are treasured in Tuareg society. Their parents and other relatives start to teach them everything they need to know in order to succeed in herding when they are still young. Knowledge involved in herding is vast; it would take up to years to learn and it cannot be learnt in the public school. Though some children are sent to public schools for education, they could never learn the importance skills on surviving in the desert. At a public school, children learn how to read and write and learn foreign languages such as French. However to most the Tuareg this knowledge is consider as worthless, since in a non-industrial society learning read and write would not change their poor and jobless situations. The only real thing for children to maintain themselves when they grow up, is to learn how to produce food through herding and gardening, which they have to learn at home through participating in food production.

Beliefs

Most Tuareg are followers of Islam. Among many Tuareg this practice is nominal, usually only daily prayers are made to Allah, but strict adherence to other religious requirements is rare. The Tuareg would observe and celebrate most of the feasts, but the fasting that is required during Ramadan is often excused due to extensive traveling. Like most followers of Islam in northern Africa, Tuareg believe in the continuous presence of various spirits. Divination is accomplished through means of the Koran. Many Tuareg men wear protective amulets that contain verses from the Koran. In addition the Tuareg practice fortune telling with cowry shells, lizards, mirrors, and sometimes use the Koran to heal. They believe that there are lots of evil spirits around and causes illnesses.

Resources:

Architecture:

http://www.asmat.eu/scripts/article.php?Article=211-tuaregs-people-from-desert

http://www.speaking4earth.net/html/?people=65

http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/africa/exhibit/sahara/tuareg/7.htm

African Folklore: an encyclopedia; by Peek, Philip M. & Yankah, Kwesi; published in 2004 by Routledge

Clothing:

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Tuareg.html

http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Tuareg.html

Diet:

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Tuareg.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_foods_do_the_Tuareg_eat