Tuareg

Africaagro-pastoralists
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expand_more Description

The Tuareg are agro-pastoralist people living in the northern and western African countries of Niger, Mali, Algeria and Libya. They speak several dialects of Temacheg, a branch of the Berber language family, reinforcing the belief that they all descended from the Berbers who lived in the Fezzan region of Libya. Traditional social organization included clans and clan sections internally divided into broad social classes consisting of nobles, religious practitioners, artisans, tribute paying cultivators, and laborers (former slaves). Relationships among clans were facilitated through loose clan confederations under the leadership of a sultan elected by the chiefs of noble clans. The Tuareg are Muslims, but their religious belief system also includes non-Islamic elements.

Identifier
Region
  • Africa
Subregion
  • Northern Africa
Subsistence Type
  • agro-pastoralists
Samples
Countries
  • Algeria
  • Libya
  • Mali
  • Niger
External Links