Tuareg nomads
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A bit of family history - Abdelkrim ag Ahrmed, son of Ahrmed ag Chaoua, is the grand-son of Chaoua and comes from a dynasty of caravan leaders. In the language of the Tuareg, Tamacheq, “ag” means “son of”. - Niger / Aïr / 2003
Tuareg warrior - With a single blow of his Takuba, Boubakar ag Mohamed has beheaded a jackal... what a feat! As the leader of a clan of ten families from the Kel Takriza tribe, formerly feared in the Sahel because of their raids against black farmers, today he is the most peaceful of Tuareg dignitaries – and the one wearing the most makeup! - Niger / Western Aïr
In the morning light Caravan in the Temet wadi. Niger - Aïr - 2003
Portrait of a young Touareg - Faris / Aïr / Niger
Nomad tent at Fort Polignac, today called Illizi. - Algeria - 1966
A Tuareg woman grinds the grain on a stone mill - Camp Idriss - Dider - Tassili n'Ajjer. - Algeria - 1966
Game Every nomad likes to play. The preference is given to the game of checkers, whose pawns are pebbles or camel poop. Each move is punctuated by endless discussions. Algeria - Hoggar Camp - 1968
Well of the Ténéré tree At the bottom of this 36 meters deep well, the water is of poor quality, but necessary for caravaneers. It is brought to the surface by muscle power or with the help of animals. Niger - Tenere - 1967
Caravan In the Aïr, the guide searches on foot for the best passage for his caravan through the dunes. Niger - Aïr - Erg Izane - 2000
Entering another world The caravan is about to enter a mineral universe that is no longer the world of men but that of an intact nature where only the nomads can survive. Niger - Aïr - Erg Izane - 2002
Abakaoua In his indigo outfit, chief Abakaoua ag Kanom, a symbol of the stubborn resistance of the Touareg Kel Tédélé people, proudly wears his 72 years and underlines the tenacious will of his gaze with a line of khol. Niger - Aïr - 2003
Touareg This noble Touareg of the Kel Rela tribe is armed with his spear. The spear is becoming more and more rare; it was used to hunt gazelles or mouflons. The tagoûlmoust, the veil that surrounds the head and hides the lower face, is given by the father to his son when he reaches puberty. Algeria - Hoggar - 1964
Long live the bride The pectoral pendant is the centrepiece of the adornment of a woman on the day of her marriage. Around the neck, she wears a collar formed by cloves. The scent that emerges is very appreciated among women. Algeria - Illizi - 1967
Nomad tent made of animal skins in Sidi Mohammed's camp on the track through the Hoggar. - Algeria - 1966
The tea water is boiled on an open fire. Targui Litni in Sidi Mohammed's camp on the track through the Hoggar. - Algeria - 1966
Departure. The women fold up the Issabeur or Assaber, a kind of removable fence 8 to 10 metres long that protects against wind and winter cold. The Issabeur is made of mats stitched together with the long stems of the Markuba, a grass plant that thrives in clumps in the desert. - Algeria - 1966
In the camp, life melts away in little drops of time that you sip with relish. Every nomad loves to play. The favourite pastime is a kind of checkers game with stones, some of which are pebbles, others camel dung balls. There are endless discussions between the individual moves. - Algeria - 1966
The purple mountains of the Tassili N'Aijer shimmer in a mirage of water. The Tassili mountains are the domain of the Ajjer Tuareg, the land of veiled, poor but independent men. - Algeria - 1966
Tuareg nomad camp in the Oued Djerat in the Tassili Mountains. - Algeria - 1962
The imzad, a one-stringed violin, consists of half a bottle gourd covered with goatskin and a wooden handle. The string is made of horsehair. The bow is a curved piece of laurel rose wood. Only the women play this instrument on festive days. Tuareg poetry is expressed orally. - Algeria - 1962
Tuareg society has a matriarchal structure. This imzad player (the imzad is a one-stringed musical instrument) praises the great deeds of her ancestors as handed down to her by her mother; she is the keeper of tradition. However, the difficult art of playing the imzad is becoming more and more lost. The instrument is made of half a calabash with sheepskin stretched over it, the bridge is made of the wood of the laurel rose. - Algeria - 1962
In the middle of the Tassili, you can suddenly come across a nomadic mosque. - Algeria - 1962
Each tribe has its own special mark that it burns on the animals to be able to recognise them if they get lost. – Niger - 1966
Camel breeding is the occupation of the noble. In reality, they are dromedaries in the Sahara, but they have been called camels for centuries. Up to the age of three or four, the camel stays in the pasture. Then it starts to be trained. Between six and eight years, it is put to work. Male animals are usually used for the large caravans. – Niger - 1966
Camel market in In-Gall in Aïr (Republic of Niger). As in all marketplaces in Africa, people haggle extensively. The Tuareg are very vain. They often wear bracelets made of stone, e.g. serpentine, slate or limestone, above their elbows. The man in the white gandura on the left has a braid hanging from the litham on either side of his head, a custom typical of the Aïr. – Niger - 1966
