For you, it may look like a small unimportant detail, like your
thumbnail. But for me, it is the whole vast world. Look at this
jewel... here is the ant, here is the hyena, the jackal, the hoof
of a horse, that of a gazelle, the sun, the moon, the stars, the
good eye... this triangle, this is woman, and here are the eyebrows
of the Malignant One, there, laughter... it is all of our lives in
one piece of silver. (Translated from the French by Helene E.
Hagan, from original Tuareg words of an artisan cited by J. Gabus,
1971) An extensive study of the symbolism of Tuareg jewelry has not
yet been undertaken to date. It is this simple realization that
brought the authors together in a decision to collect information
on the topic, from past scholarly journals and books, contemporary
articles and web sites, but also from Tuareg informants whose
expert knowledge was sought. Though this book is small and does not
aspire to be all encompassing, it is the first work totally
dedicated to the presentation of the elaborate silver jewelry of
Tuareg men and women of Northern Niger in the English language, and
the only one we know that is solely dedicated to providing
information concerning the function, meanings, and symbols of that
jewelry. The book introduces the reader to the culture of the
Tuaregs, a remarkable group of African nomads of the Sahara Desert,
which has fascinated the Europeans who came into contact with them
in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the last decade or
so, as the Tuareg societies of Niger and Mali underwent major
change, a number of American researchers began to document some of
their ways. Research and publications in the English language are,
however, laggingfar behind those in the French language.
Fortunately, the primary author of this book, Helene Hagan, was
originally educated in the French language, and as an Amazigh
(Berber) herself, is very familiar with North African scholarship
in the Amazigh culture. Thus, as a bilingual anthropologist of
Berber ancestry, born and raised in Morocco, and an activist for
Amazigh cultural, linguistic and human rights, she benefits from a
fourfold source of valuable information: French scholarship,
American contemporary accounts, the latest Amazigh research
emanating out of North Africa, and Northern Niger Tuareg informants
she knows. This unique set of circumstances gives the book an extra
dimension of depth and insight.
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