Beauty and Adornment in the Sahara: Tuareg and Wodaabe (Part 1)

• Post Date: 11/11/2024
• Author: Haley Collins, registration assistant
• Reading Time: 14 minute read

• Exhibits tag
• In-Depth tag

This project highlights the craftsmanship of North African artisans from the Tuareg region and the uses of this jewelry by the neighboring Wodaabe people. Through this collection, themes of trade, adornment, and beauty in the 21st century are explored.

Tuareg Background

The Tuareg live in North Africa in the Berber region, including Niger, Algeria, Libya, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The Tuareg are a subgroup of the Berbers, the indigenous people in North Africa predating Arab arrival. Tuareg is an Arabic name, meaning “the people who abandoned God”, in reference to their refusal to adopt Islamic religion. The Tuareg have different titles for themselves based on region, including Imajighen (Niger), Imuhagh (Algeria), and Imucsgh (Mali). The Tuareg speak Tamasheq, a variation of the Berber language Tamazight.

The ancient script of the Tamasheq language, Tifinagh, is the basis for their jewelry, and each letter holds sacred symbolism. Tuareg women are the teachers of the Tifinagh alphabet and it has been passed down by female family members through generations.

Prior to European colonial rule, the Tuareg moved freely as nomadic pastoralists. The new borders that were drawn as nations became independent in 1960 further damaged Tuareg nomadic lifestyles, political system, and social/economic strategies. The Tuareg rebelled against the new nations many times, calling for autonomy over their homelands in Niger, Mali, and other states around the Sahara but were unsuccessful. This change of subsistence and economic practices has caused major population. The Tuareg currently claim a population of 3 million.

The past hierarchal structure put executive leadership in the Amenokal, or chief, and the noble class. The inadane group (smiths) were the artisans and held knowledge of smithing, leatherwork, and making weapons, utensils, music, and all other art forms. The inadane also preserved traditional knowledge of technology and science. Historically, the inadane were marginal in Tuareg society and depended on the nobles. Current social hierarchy has been blurred following colonization. With the changes to nomadic lifestyles in the 21st century, smiths have become a more prominent status, as they have become essential for economic survival through selling their pieces. The inadanes are the ambassadors of cultural knowledge, key to continuing to pass on Tuareg traditions.

Jewelry

The Legend of Taneghelt tells the story of a young nobleman who fell in love with a princess, the daughter of the Amenokal. Her father forbade any suitors to try and marry his daughter. In an effort to win her affection, the nobleman went to visit a smith. The smith offered to combine symbols that represent the syllables in the word for love (+ and O) into one pendant. The nobleman was convinced that the smith put magical power into the pendant, so he gave the pendant to the princess’s servant. Each night as she was served dinner, the servant gave her the pendant, and she knew the nobleman was waiting to see her. Her father noticed the nobleman’s devotion to his daughter, and finally agreed to their union. Therefore, the cross was created as a symbol of love. 

The taneghelt is the prototype of all Tuareg jewelry. There are 21 taneghelt patterns that each correspond to a particular Tuareg settlement in Niger. The most recognizable pattern is the cross of Agadez. Within our collection, we have 2 examples of the cross of Agadez. Also included in our collection is the cross of Zinder and the cross of Inabageret.

Another type of Tuareg pendant is the tcherot amulet. The tcherot amulet is a silver square or rectangular pendant. The rectangular shape has debated meaning, sometimes attributed to the shape of the Quran. Another proposed meaning is that the amulet is thought to represent a star, as constellations are vital for navigation. This origin is reflective of artistic traditions prior to Islamic influence. Each amulet has unique geometric designs of Tifinagh letters and sometimes includes messages or blessings, roses, or verses from the Quran. These amulets are a form of protection from mischievous spirits, and are mostly worn by Tuareg men, alongside a taneghelt necklace.

The tiraout is another popular pendant made and worn by the Tuareg. This pendant is predominantly worn by women, and acts as a fertility or femininity symbol. The tiraout has a large triangle in the center, with 7–9 smaller triangles dangling below the central piece. Sometimes this center triangle is replaced with a tcherot pendant. The following artifacts are two examples of the tiraout from our collection.

Silver earrings are typically a customary gift for brides at their wedding as part of her dowry. Similarly, bracelets are also given to newlywed brides. Again, the geometric features reflect symbolic meanings from the Tifinagh alphabet. Rings are also part of a bride’s gifts, but rings can also be a part of men’s adornment. A common ring design is an ingall pendant, which is traditionally worn by men, and is believed to have prophylactic or healing powers. These rings have intricate silver mountings with symbolic etchings and carnelian inserts.

Production Process

The lost-wax method involves wax molds of the desired design that are then wrapped in a clay or sand mold. This mold is heated over a fire, and the wax is poured out. Next, silver is poured into the resulting hole in the clay or sand, the mold is cooled, and the mold is broken off to reveal the silver piece. The smith then hammers, chisels, and engraves the piece to finalize the designs. Although new tools and electrical devices are available to make the process simpler, the inadanes prefer the lost-wax method, and continue their traditional processes. This is especially important as inadanes are the main source of the reproduction of cultural knowledge, especially within the arts and technology related to Tuareg ways of life.

The inadanes’ toolkit is often homemade and includes an anvil, hammers, engravers, punches, and files. They decorate and engrave each piece, typically making freehand designs. Every Tuareg item is unique, and often inadanes will add personalized additions to their designs such as roses, blessings, or signatures to distinguish their jewelry.

The main material used in Tuareg jewelry is silver. The silver was historically recycled from a variety of sources, including Australian coins and scrap silver found in markets. However, in response to the global market, inadanes have started to use sterling silver for their jewelry. They have recently begun to incorporate new materials, including copper, brass, gold, and tin, as well as beads made of glass, agate, shell, and other decorative elements such as carnelian. Additionally, some European trade items such as talhakimt made of stone, glass, and plastics have also been used in different designs.

The following video shows a Tuareg inadane using the lost-wax method to make a taneghelt pendant.

Tuareg Today

Between recurring droughts, political infringement, and repercussions of colonialism, the Tuareg traditional ways of life have been threatened. Historically, the Tuareg were nomadic pastoralists, but in the 21st century they have been pushed to sedentism or forced across borders without proper documentation in search of work.

Historical hierarchal designations place Tuareg nobles at the top, and inadanes were marginal and subject to these nobles. However, their relationship is nuanced. Although marginal, inadanes are cultural ambassadors, as “The metalsmith transforms the natural into a cultural substance, and is in a kind of competition with gods. He/she is a ritual specialist, in his/her mastery of skills, and also is believed to possess magical powers.” Therefore, the importance of the arts for the inadanes cannot be separated from the connections with social stratification. The nobles and inadanes share a unique relationship. Inadanes are dependent on the nobles, and the nobles are obligated to respect their demands. The nobles and smiths have a joking nature in their relationship where the smiths must “trick” the nobles into giving into their demands, whether this is for sustenance, shelter, or money. As the nobles were traditionally the consumers of Tuareg arts, inadanes maintain this joking dynamic throughout their artisan/customer relationships in the modern marketplace. Also, inadanes are now responsible for dealing with tourists.

The term ishumar emerged from the 1960s following French colonial rule and originally meant “unemployment.” This referred to those who left nomadic practices for employment in the city. Currently, ishumar refers to people living in borderlands or in other marginalized situations. It is “characterized by transnational movements in the borderlands between Libya, Algeria Mali, and Niger and by ruptured, modified, and newly invented traditions, norms, and values.” In essence, ishumar is a development of the lifestyles of Tuareg people following colonial rule and the effects the drastic changes to traditional ways of life and population decline. The term encapsulates the Tuareg youth and their adaptations in the 21st century.

The teshumara movement was coined by Hawad, a Tuareg man now residing in France, to identify ishumar and the modern forms of nomadism they practice. Teshumara encompasses a political vision, ideology, and lifestyles. This “new nomadism” recognizes the change to the landscape in which Tuareg live, but it still honors the memories and practices of Tuareg nomads in the past. This new mobility is disorganized and anarchic, which differs to the cyclical mobility of past nomads. Teshumara recognizes that these movements are partly voluntary and partly involuntary, as many ishumar are forced to move between borderlands for political and/or economic reasons. Teshumara has two distinguishable features: moving transnationally and continually.