Book
Ecology and culture of the pastoral Tuareg: with particular reference to the Tuareg of Ahaggar and Ayr
The National Museum of Copenhagen • Copenhagen • Published In 1963 • Pages: xvi, 540
By: Nicolaisen, Johannes.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The author, a Danish ethnologist, spent nearly 2 1/2 years among the Tuareg during the course of 6 field trips spread over a ten-year period. His most concentrated period of field work was for 14 months in 1954-55. From 8 to 10 months was spent among the Southern Tuareg, mainly with the Kel Ayr, while the remainder of the time was spent among the Northern Tuareg, mainly with the Kel Ahaggar. The monograph focuses upon ecological adaptations, subsistence economy and technology, and general material culture, while a shorter but very interesting section is devoted to sociopolitical organization and kinship. Throughout, the author combines historical and functional approaches in an attempt to analyze Tuareg culture in historical perspective, and especially to trace the impact of Arab Islamic influences upon the traditional culture. Some of these data have already been reported in previous articles (cf. this collection, document no. 5)The researcher should be especially cautious when reading the section on political organization, because some of the terminology used by Nicolaisen may be quite misleading, and required special marking decisions. This is particularly true of the social units which he calls 'tribes'; according to his description of these units they seem to match most closely the <highlight rend="underline">OCM</highlight> definition of sibs, and have thus been indexed for CLANS. In fact, in Nicolaisen's previous article referred to above, he uses the term 'clans' rather than 'tribes' for these units, and also gives the pertinent Tuareg term <highlight rend="underline">taousit</highlight>, which seems to be omitted from this book. Correlatively, the subdivisions of 'tribes' which Nicolaisen calls 'sections' have been indexed for LINEAGES, as have the subdivisions of these 'sections' which he does call lineages.There are two other special marking decisions of particular importance. The most significant and permanent political unit among the Tuareg, namely the drum-group (<highlight rend="underline">ettebel</highlight>; pl. <highlight rend="underline">ettegelen</highlight>), has been indexed for DISTRICTS Usually, several drum-groups are allied to compose a larger political federation such as that of the Kel Ahaggar and the Kel Ayr. These represent the highest level of political integration among the Tuareg, although their significance is relatively minor, and they have been indexed for FORMS AND RULES OF GOVERNMENT. However, when the drum-group is a politically independent unit, as is the case with the Kel Geres and the Kel Adrar, it has been indexeded for FORMS AND RULES OF GOVERNMENT.For further information and commentary on this source, the researcher may consult the highly commendatory review by Robert F. Murphy in the <highlight rend="underline">American Anthropologist</highlight> 68: 554-56 (1966), and especially the detailed review article by Gast in <highlight rend="underline">Libyca</highlight> 12: 335-341 (1964).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Ethos
- Cultural identity and pride
- Cultural participation
- Pastoral activities
- Functional and adaptational interpretations
- Community structure
- Form and rules of government
- Kin relationships
- Lineages
- Localized kin groups
- Territorial hierarchy
- Historical reconstruction
- General character of religion
- External relations
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Tuareg
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2010
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Amal Vinogradov ; Robert O. Lagacé ; 1965-67
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1951-1962
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1800-1963
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Niger and Algeria
- NotesAdditional notes
- Johannes Nicolaisen
- Summary in Danish
- Thesis--Copenhagen
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 499-516)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 64005718
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Tuaregs