The Tuareg (or Tuareg) are nomadic people of Amazigh (Berber) origin, who make the Sahara African desert between Libya, Algeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso home, and the Tuareg are also called the "Blue People", due to their habit of wearing traditional indigo blue clothing.
The Tuareg are a Maliki Sunni Muslim people, with some pagan beliefs and rituals mixed in some places, and their children rely on a nomadic lifestyle, such as that of nomadic Arab Bedouins.
The origin of the Tuareg
Historical sources differ about the origin and roots of the Tuareg community, as there are those who stated that their roots go back to the Himyar tribe in Yemen, from which they migrated to Egypt after the collapse of the Marib Dam, and then deported to the regions of North Africa and the Sahara after they entered into clashes with the ruling state at the time in Egypt.
There are those who say that the roots of the Tuareg go back to the Amazigh tribes that inhabited North Africa and the Sahara before Islam, such as the Sanhaja tribes and others.
From a festival of Tuareg music and culture in Algeria (French)
Just as historians differed in the origins of the Tuaregs, so did they differ in their name, with some saying that the name or word "Tuareg" dates back to their affiliation with the Islamic leader Tariq bin Ziyad.
In another version, some of them stated that their real name was "Tuark", after the Wadi Tarka region of Libya, which is home to thousands of Tuaregs.
The third opinion is that the word Tuareg is a corruption of the Amazigh word "Tamasheq", which means "free men".
The Tuareg constitute a large community throughout the Sahara desert, but they have been subjected to diaspora and division throughout the ages, due to the waves of colonialism that hit the region, especially the wave of French colonialism, which established geographical borders that divided the region and did not respect its historical rights.
It was the Tuareg who settled in that area when the tribe was the origin and the desert was the homeland, and the concept of the modern state did not exist at the time.
Tuareg language
The Tuareg use their own language called the Tuareg language, and there are three dialects that vary from one tribe to another: "Tamasheq", "Tamajiq", and "Tamahij".
Some accounts say that in the past, the Tuareg used their own alphabet in writing, called Tifinagh, but their use has begun to decrease in recent decades for a variety of political, economic, and social reasons.
Tuareg census
Estimates vary about the total number of Tuareg people in the Sahara region, due to the absence of official statistics to confirm this, but some sources say that their number is estimated at approximately 3.5 million, the majority of whom (about 85% of them) live in Mali and Niger, and the rest are distributed between Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso.
The Tuareg of Libya live in the Fezzan region, the Tuareg of Algeria in the Hoggar region, the Malian Tuaregs live in the regions of Azawad and Adghag, while the Tuareg of Niger live in the Ayer region.
These four areas are the driest and least densely populated compared to other areas of these countries, but the Tuareg have long experienced these areas with their desert terrain and harsh nature, and throughout history have secured the movement of commercial caravans that cross them.
Their great courage, for which they are historically known, has helped to manage caravan routes, as they are a fighting people who are good at arming themselves with knives, swords, daggers and spears, especially during their commercial journeys, in addition to their strong patience with the difficult desert climate, as well as their knowledge of water resources and their mastery of the process of guiding the stars at night.
Categorical divisions and tribal distributions
Tuareg society is characterized by its multiple social classes, each of which differs from the other, by virtue of specialization, affiliation and function, based on a hierarchy that places the "imagigan" class at the top, which is the class of powerful masters who bear the responsibility of protecting the rest of the groups.
Next comes the Inslemin class, whose task is limited to teaching, learning and religious matters, followed by the wealthy Imgad class, which pays the masters by virtue of its possession of wealth, and the Inaden class, which is the class of traditional craftsmen.
Then comes the slave class or freed slaves, called the "Bezos" caste, and at the base of the pyramid there is the "Iclan" class, which is the class of slaves who have not yet gained their freedom.
At the level of tribal division, the Tuareg are divided into several tribes distributed over their area of presence in the Sahara, including the Tamasheq "Kul Tamasheq" who speak Tamazight ("Kol" in the Tamashiq language meaning "Al"), and are composed of two main tribes, "Kol Ahgar" and "Kol Ajjar", and live in Algeria and Libya.
There are also the tribes of Kol Ayer, Kol Gris, Oulmden et Dinik, who inhabit Niger, Oumden kol Atarim, Kol Tadmket, or Kol Souk, Kol Adghag, and Kol Antaser, all in Mali.
Part of the Tuareg live in tents woven from goat leather and hair, while others live in mud houses that provide them with a safe shelter, protected by the strong heat of the sun and the harsh desert climate.
Latham Tuareg
The Tuareg community is known for some customs and traditions rooted in the depths of history that distinguish it from other societies, including the wearing of their men but not women.
Wearing a veil in Tuareg custom is a duty for every man who has reached the age of majority (sources talk about wearing it at the age of 15, and others talk about wearing it at the age of 18), and this veil, sometimes 4 or 5 meters long, remains with the Tuareg man throughout his life wherever he travels, and only the eyes and sometimes the nose and mouth appear from his face.
Unlike men, Tuareg women do not wear veils on their faces, but cover their hair with desert cloth, often black.
Accounts differ about the origin of the custom of Tuareg men wearing the tham, with sources saying that it is placed to ward off the scorching desert sun and its occasional raging sandstorms, and other sources say that its placement is a sign of decency, dignity and modesty also from family and in-laws.
Women in Tuareg society
Women in the Tuareg community enjoy a privileged position and are treated with great respect, and their voice is heard in everything related to family affairs and society as a whole.
Their level of education often exceeds that of Touareg men, due to the fact that it is the mother or woman in general who teaches children, especially girls, to write and memorize the Qur'an.
The mother also teaches her daughters to write poetry, play music and do housework, which may be due to the frequent absence of men from the tribe, as they go on commercial trips that take several months, and sometimes go out to fight.
In addition, the status of women within Tuareg society is characterized by the affiliation of their sons to them, rather than their father's lineage, and the children inherit their mother's social status.
This is due to some ancient pagan legacies, dating back to the time of the societies that settled in the Sahara region before the advent of Islam, where children were attributed to their mothers and followed their families from grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles and aunts.
The Touareg woman is the one who chooses her husband and not the other way around, and he goes to live with her wherever she wants, and often lives with her among her family, and to her the ownership of the house and the livestock and belongings it contains.
Women also have the right to marry and divorce themselves, and are even proud of their divorce, and when they obtain a divorce, they hold a large ceremony attended by members of the tribe, which is an opportunity for a speech so that they can propose to her for remarriage.
Divorced women are called "Ahsis", which means in the local language that they are liberated or free, that is, those who have been liberated from their responsibilities and obligations towards the family and society, and the more multiple Touareg women marry, have children and divorce as well, this is a cause for pride for them and their families, as this contributes to their giving birth to strong warrior men, capable of defending the tribe and society as a whole.
Tuareg women are the ones who receive guests, feed passers-by, and play all roles related to local rituals, customs, traditions and more.
Tuareg resistance to colonialism
During the waves of European occupation of African countries, which began at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Tuareg fiercely resisted this colonialism, especially the French one.
The resistance was at the level of the countries in which they were located (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria and Libya), and they impeded the advance of the French armies that assassinated their chief Amnokal (Sheikh) Fahron, commander of Oldman (Kol Atram) in 1916.
After the independence of African countries from French colonialism in the mid-twentieth century, some Tuaregs entered into a tense relationship with the countries in which they lived, demanding what they considered their political and civil rights.
In 1963, the first effective action of the Tuareg in Mali was to protest against the "marginalization" they say they received from the government of President Mobodou Keita, to express their political demands and their right to own land and to protect their identity and cultural and linguistic specificities.
The lack of cadres and competencies with higher degrees within the Tuareg further marginalized their demands, preventing them from holding political and official positions within the governments of the countries in which they reside, as well as settling in desert areas with a sparsely populated population far from capitals and major cities, where official decisions are made.
In the early nineties of the twentieth century, armed Touareg movements entered into confrontations with the Malian army, as a result of which Algeria played a mediating role between the two parties.
Negotiations with these movements ended with the signing of the Tamanrasset Peace Agreement in January 1991, but it was not respected by both sides and they returned to violence, prompting thousands of Malians to seek refuge in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Algeria.
In Niger, the Tuareg under President Seni Koenchi, during the eighties, made a large migration to Libya.
After his death in 1987, President Ali Sebo, who succeeded Konchi, wanted to turn a new page with the Tuareg-led opposition in Libya, but violent confrontations took place between the Nigerien army and the Tuareg against the backdrop of crushing repression.
Seeing that the state was refusing to allow them to benefit from the revenues of the country's booming uranium industry, despite the damage caused to their land by mining industries, the Tuaregs in Niger set up an armed movement called the Niger Movement for Justice, targeting foreign companies operating in Niger and their employees.
The Niger Movement for Justice (MJ) carried out numerous military operations against the army, causing many deaths and causing significant losses in a number of government facilities in the country.
In Mali, the Tuareg founded the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2010, and tensions began to escalate between them and the government there, kidnapping a number of soldiers, and the Malian government tried to suppress them and reduce their danger, but the movement strengthened more after a number of soldiers of Tuareg origin defected from the Malian regular army.
In 2012, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which demands Tuareg self-determination, declared Azawad a "liberated" region after violent confrontations against armed Islamist movements that controlled northern Mali, but this did not receive much international support or sympathy.
Despite the peaceful initiatives of many neighbouring countries, the ceasefire between the Tuareg and the armies of the countries in the region where they are deployed has yet to be implemented.