- Tuareg
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/twah"reg/, n.1. a Berber or Hamitic-speaking member of the Muslim nomads of the Sahara.2. the language of the Tuaregs, a Berber language of the Afroasiatic family.[ < dial. Ar Tawarig]
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A member of a nomadic Berber-speaking people of the southwestern Sahara in Africa.Their feudal, matrilineal culture divides society into nobles, clergy, vassals, artisans, and labourers (once slaves). Northern Tuareg live mainly in true desert; southern Tuareg live in steppe and savanna. They have traditionally engaged in herding, agriculture, convoying caravans across their territories, and raiding neighbouring tribes. They combine many pre-Islamic rituals and customs with Sunnite Muslim beliefs. Droughts in the 1970s and '80s reduced their numbers and eroded their traditional way of life.* * *
▪ peopleFrench TouaregBerber-speaking pastoralists who inhabit an area in North and West Africa ranging from Touat, Alg., and Ghudāmis, Libya, to northern Nigeria and from Fezzan, Libya, to Timbuktu, Mali. Their political organizations extend across national boundaries. In the late 20th century there were estimated to be 900,000 Tuareg.The northern Tuareg live mainly in true desert country, whereas the southerners live primarily in steppe and savanna. The Tuareg consist of confederations including the Ahaggar (Hoggar) and Azjer (Ajjer) in the north and the Asben (Aïr Tuareg), Ifora, Itesen (Kel Geres), Aulliminden, and Kel Tademaket in the south. The southerners breed zebu cattle and camels, some of which are sold to the northern Tuareg. Raiding of caravans and travelers was important in pre-European times, as was caravan trading, which declined with the introduction of motor vehicles. Droughts across southern Mauritania, Senegal, Niger, Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), and Chad in the 1970s and '80s both reduced the numbers of the southern Tuareg and eroded their traditional pastoral way of life.Tuareg society is traditionally feudal, ranging from nobles, through clergy, vassals, and artisans, to labourers (once slaves). The conventional Tuareg dwelling is a tent of red-dyed skin (sometimes replaced in the later 20th century with plastic). Traditional weapons include two-edged swords, sheathed daggers, iron lances, and leather shields. Adult males wear a blue veil in the presence of women, strangers, and in-laws, but that practice began to be abandoned with urbanization. They have preserved a peculiar script (tifinagh) related to that used by ancient Libyans.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
