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Ariane Alzhara Kirtley '04: "Three Rounds of Tuareg Tea"
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| Tuareg Women
Pounding Millet,
Tuareg Village of Talat, Agadez Region Once pounded into fine grain, the millet will be used to make the country's staple meal, fura. Each region and ethnic group has its own method of preparing fura. Traditionally, the Tuaregs prepare porridge from the cooked, pounded millet by adding water or milk, goat cheese known as choucou, dates, and rare desert herbs. The Hausa typically blend the cooked pounded millet with milk and water until it can be drunk or sipped with a ladle. |
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| Traditional Granary, Konni, Tahoua Region Traditional granaries such as this one are common in Konni, even though more modern granaries are slowly replacing these more traditional systems of refining grain. The most common grain grown and processed in Niger is millet. Corn, barley, rice, and more recently bulgur wheat -- brought in by USAID "Food for Work" programs -- are also processed in such granaries. The grains are refined into flour, boiled into pasty balls called tuwo, and served with a lamb or okra sauce. Yum! |
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| Maquat and
her child, Ousman, Tuareg Village of Abardok, Agadez Region Maquat is my Nigerien sister and childhood playmate. Her mother, Bashi, took care of my brother and me when we could not join our parents in their travels across the nearby Bagzan Mountain range. |
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| Child near Village Hut, Tuareg Village of Abardok, Agadez Region |
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| Children Playing, Tuareg Village of Abardok, Agadez Region Located in the foothills of the Bagzan Mountains is the village of Abardok. It is one of the few places in the world where I feel in complete harmony with myself and my surroundings. It is my home. As a young girl, I too played for long hours in the shade of this tree. |
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| Ahoudan,
Tuareg Village of Abardok, Agadez Region Ahoudan was our guide when my parents were on assignment in the Sahara. By camelback and foot we traveled with him to the most remote oasis and boulder formations of the Bagzan and other ranges in the Ayr Mountains… to secret places known by few other outsiders. Ahoudan is an Inadan, or artisan of the Sahara. He is known for his delicate silver necklaces and earrings embellished with amber and garnet, and for the traditional Tuareg patterns that he embroiders onto women’s clothing. |
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| Tuareg Village in the Ayr, Agadez Region |
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| Djibril and
son, Ali, Tuareg Village of Abardok, Agadez Region Djibril, a hard working farmer, is Ahoudan’s brother. With his many fields of onions, carrots, millet, potatoes, and seasonal strawberries, he is one of the wealthiest members of Abardok. |
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| Child and Fence, Outside of Abardok at the foot of the Bagzan Mountains, Agadez Region |
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| Fulani Child,
Village of Goumbi Kanno, Tahoua Region The Fulani are a nomadic ethnic group found throughout West Africa, from Lake Chad, in the east, to the Atlantic coast. They are concentrated principally in Nigeria, Mali, Guinea, Cameroon, Senegal, and Niger. Today, Fulani in Niger often settle down among their sedentary neighbors, intermarrying and establishing trading contacts for future business transactions. Up until recently, they had rejected formal education because they believe that schools have “stolen” their children from the traditional pastoral lifestyle. The most important possession in Fulani society is cattle, about which these herders have many traditions and taboos. The number of cows a person owns is a sign of his wealth. Apart from the health and safety of their livestock, the veneration of "beauty," as they see it, is the most important ideal in life. The importance that the Fulani give to beauty can be observed by their intricate hairstyles and elaborate facial and body tattoos. |
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| Fulani Boy, Village of Goumbi Kanno, Tahoua Region |
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| Hausa Girl
Selling Eggs, Konni, Tahoua Region The Hausas belong to the majority ethnic group in Niger. Traditionally sedentary, they depend on agriculture and commerce for their livelihood. Due to their majority position, as a group they have the strongest economic power in Niger and therefore they have access to better schooling and medicine than minority, traditionally pastoral ethnic groups such as the Fulani and Tuareg. Most of the Hausa live in rural farm villages with populations ranging from 2,000 to 12,000. Both inside and outside the villages, one-third to one-half of the population live in small farm settlements made up of extended families. These economic kin-based units live under the authority of the male head of the household. The Hausa, a majority of whom are Muslim, are known for their hospitability towards strangers. In Niger, it has even become a source of national pride. In the Hausa language, one word, bako, is used to define both "guest" and "stranger." The Hausa are also known for their tradition of greeting all friends and strangers alike with an elaborate set of greetings, asking about one’s state of health, family, fields and the weather, to which the response is always Lahiya Lau, “in good health.” |
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| Fulani Girls, Konni Market, Tahoua Region |
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| Fulani Girl, Village of Goumbi Kanno, Tahoua Region |
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| Tuareg Mother
and Child, Tuareg Village of Talat, Agadez Region Tuaregs are traditionally a nomadic ethnic group, living predominantly in the Sahara desert regions of Mali, Algeria, and Niger. Over the past few decades, however, drought and government policy have threatened their pastoral lifestyles, and therefore many Tuaregs have chosen to sedentarize. Nonetheless, Tuaregs and their camel caravans still appear unexpectedly on the horizon before melting into the desert again. The Tuaregs are often referred to as "Blue Men of the Desert", because their robes are dyed indigo blue. They live in small tribal groupings with between 30 and 100 family members, and keep camels, goats, cattle and chicken that graze the land. They are famous for their fighting abilities and artwork. Their past as warriors and artisans can be represented in their most valued possession, their sword, called takouba. Many takoubas are passed from generation to generation, and said to be protected by the victories of their past owners. |
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| Smiling Camels, Outside of Abardok at the foot of the Bagzan Mountains, Agadez Region |
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| Mahamut and Ariane Dressed in Traditional Tuareg Clothing, Agadez |
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