Alternative Names
Kel Tamajaq (“People who speak Tamajaq”); Kel Tagelmust (“People of the Veil”); Targui; Touareg; and also names designating groups from the different regions and confederations, for example, Kel Air (“People of the Air region”); Kel Ewey (“People of the Bull”, a political confederation), descent groups or clans (“Kel Nabarro”; “Kel Tafidet”), and the pre-colonial social strata, for example, Imajeghen (designating the aristocracy); Inaden (smith-artisans); and Imghad (tributaries).
Location and Linguistic Affiliation
Most Tuareg today live in Saharan and Sahelian regions of West and North Africa: in the present-day countries of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Algeria, and Libya. They are believed to have originated in the central Saharan Fezzan region of Libya. Some Tuareg from Mali and Niger have fled from recent drought and war, to refugee communities in Mauritania. In addition, many men travel extensively on caravan trade to Nigeria and labor migration to Nigeria and...
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Rasmussen, S.J. (2004). Tuareg. In: Ember, C.R., Ember, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-29905-X_102
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