Taureg

The Tuaregs

Most of us have seen photos or film of the Sahara Desert. In those mediums, we see the stereotypical transient of the desert with his robes and camels. Those images loosely resemble nomadic people called Tuaregs.

The Tuaregs have traversed the Sahara Desert for several hundred years. Their primary product is salt that is caravanned from mines that are scattered throughout Central and North Africa. Those mines are to be enchanted. This adds a little more value to the product and keeps the Tuaregs in business to this day.

If you want to do business with a Tuareg, you could attempt to learn some of their language. Marry Ellen Guffey wrote that it is best that we learn some basics about the culture of the people we are doing business with in order to provide a good working environment (Guffey). Therefore, I am going to provide some background, history, and some mannerisms of the Tuareg people.

As former rulers of the upper third of Africa for nearly 1200 years, they still do not recognize the governments of the countries formed by the Europeans in their rush to carve up Africa into their own little empires. And they do not participate in the political systems of the countries in which they still roam; consequently, they have no representation amongst the elected officials who would attempt to regulate their movements and tax their goods. For the last 15 years the Tuaregs have been fighting an armed conflict in hopes of establishing their own country carved out of the Northern wastelands of Nigeria and Mali.

Over the last half decade or so, the Sahara Desert has been punished with several prolonged droughts that have devastated the Tuareg people. This is because the Tuareg measures his wealth their herds rather than currency. When the herds were decimated by the droughts, 75% of the men committed suicide. The remaining family members were forced to move into the cities where they were forced to rely on the residents of the cities for food and shelter. Most of them are homeless and are forced to beg. Even today, they have not fully assimilated into the cities.

Although they are typically city dwellers now, they are still tribal people that are organized into clans based on family (Bleeker). As the clans grow in size, they begin to split forming new clans. This process is repeated as necessary in order to keep the clans small for mobility reasons.

The typical attire for a Tuareg is a robe and veil. Although the clothes look cumbersome, they are actually very functional. The layers help trap moisture and help cool the body and prevent dehydration in the desert heat. The Veil is never removed in public, not even to eat. It is removed at home among family members. The veil, known as the tagglemousse, provides protection against the sun by forming moist areas around the mouth and nose, and it hides any battle scarring the men have acquired throughout the years. The robes are died using indigo which rubs off easily onto the skin and acts as a sunscreen, hence the name, the Blue Men of the North (Bleeker, 12).

Although they are nomadic, some do practice religion, but not too many. They are generally Muslim and pray on occasion. This is important particularly in business because of Ramadan, the holy month. During Ramadan you cannot eat, drink, or use tobacco in front of a practicing Muslim from dawn until dusk. This is the fasting period of the day, and is absolutely offensive to not respect their religion.

When you greet a Tuareg, the traditional western handshake is not used. They have their own variation. As you are approaching you extend your right hand, "brush the palms against each other. Then each man withdraws his hand quickly snapping his fingers against his palm" (Bleeker 12).

Tuaregs drink tea before doing just about anything. This is typical of almost any nomadic culture. However, because you are going to conduct business with the Tuaregs in the market place, you can expect to not be drinking much of anything. The market places are usually crowded and are not conducive to one on one relationship building.

Because the Tuareg is so unique, many lower class people such as former slaves will try to imitate them. This is very common in the marketplace. These people will save for months and purchase clothing, jewelry, and the like just to look like an actual Tuareg. Most of the local residents can identify the imposters immediately,