There are many populations with different cultures living in the world for many years, and I would like to introduce one of them shortly. The ancient people known as Tuareg live in the great Sahara Desert region in Africa. Today, Tuaregs are living in Libya, Niger, Chad, Algeria, Mali and Burkina Faso. They are known as nomadic people. They started to live a semi-nomadic life with the beginning of urbanisation in the modern period. Tuaregs are known for their knowledge of the roads of the Sahara region. These people, who knew the Saharan roads very well, served as a bridge between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa and were effective in the distribution of many things between the two regions. The Tuaregs were effective in the spreading of Islam from North Africa to Sub-Saharan Africa. Agriculture and animal breeding are their main sources of livelihood.

There are various narratives about where the name Tuareg comes from. For example: Tuareg comes from the “Tarka” which means water source in the Berber language. According to another opinion Tuareg comes from “Taraka”, the one who follows the road. Also, people think the Tuareg name is related with the commander Tariq bin Ziyad because Tuaregs believe that their origins are related to him.

Tuaregs have a language of their own. They speak a language with 3 different dialects ‘Tamashik’, ‘Tamashek’ and ‘Tamahik’. They have an alphabet called ‘Tifinag’, and it is important to teach this traditional alphabet to the new generation of Tuaregs. They prefer to be called ‘Amazighs’, which means ‘free people’ in Arabic. There are various researches on the origins of the Tuaregs. According to some of them, their origins may be related to the Arabs, the Garamants, the Hyksos or the Phoenicians.

When looking at the culture of these ancient people, there are some things that are quite interesting. The Tuareg are a matriarchal society and the position of women in society is very important. They have their roots in a female leader named Tinhannan, founder of the Kingdom of Aghar in the Algerian desert. This may be one of the reasons for the respected position of women in this society. In Tuareg, the bloodline of the child continues from the mother, and women have an important authority in the family. They have wide rights in marriage and property ownership. 

They are also known as ‘Blue Men’ because Tuareg men cover their heads and faces with a 5 metre long blue cloth called ‘Talkalmost’ when they go out, and they are usually obliged to cover their mouths. The clothes of the Tuareg are usually dark blue in colour. Who knows, maybe this is related to the relaxing effect of the blue colour on people.

Currently, the population of Tuaregs is between 1.5-2 million. They lived in tents as nomads in the past, and started to live in their own houses in the modern period. The tradition of wearing blue clothes and veiling for men is also one of the traditions that started to be abandoned with modernisation.

Nursena Bayraktepe

Sources:

https://www.fokusplus.com/kultur/sahranin-efendileri-tuaregler

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tuareg

https://www.indyturk.com/node/648261/d%C3%BCnya/yeni-nesil-tuareglerde-ne-de%C4%9Fi%C5%9Fti

www.fokusplus.com – Sahra’nın Efendileri: Tuaregler

www.britannica.com – Tuareg

www.indyturk.com – Yeni Nesil Tuareglerde Ne Değişti?