Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Emanuel · 7th May 2006, 11:28 PM

Hello,

I have just found an informative (to me) French article on the Touareg, and it offers some good insights on these issues. Fr. de Zeltner. "Les Touareg Du Sud" The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 44. (Jul. - Dec., 1914), pp. 351-375.

On social organization it says "Touareg society is divided into four castes: the nobles Imocher; the vassals Imrad; the captives Iklan; the craftsmen Inadan. This division is the same from west to east, but it varies in importance from place to place." In some areas vassals and captives may be "rich" while in others they are poor. While in the west captives may be oppressed and living in terrible conditions of poverty, in the east they may benefit of considerable trust from the nobles, dressing like them and even wearing arms. Here there is a distinction between the types of spears used: "...instead of the Allar, the great iron spear, they only have the Tarda, whose haft is wooden..."

Further on, the articles touches upon armament, and once again presents a distinction between the types of spears. "...the Allar, made in one single piece, in iron, ornamented by a brass section; the tip is thin and leaf shaped with two barbs...it is never thrown...The captives wear the Tarda, whose tip is very large(wide), without barbs, the haft is wooden, and the lower extremity is ornamented with a talon widening in a spatula."
The brass decoration on the nobles's spear may be to avoid touching the iron, but in absence of pictures I do not know where it would be placed.

The article also gives basic descriptions of the Arrer shield, the Takouba and the Telek, and barbed javellins.

It also covers crafts, giving examples of jewellery and leather containers like those posted by Tim. Apparently eastern crafts are far more delicate and intricate than western, possibly due to influences from the Haussa. While the Touarg generally follow Islam, it seems they kept a lot of their pre-Islam superstitions. The evil eye motif is very common, and everything is decorated in geometric patterns. As regards to metal objects, jewellery may be copper, brass or silver and gold, and I haven't founs any mention of iron and steel.

The article provides a very interesting aside, introducing rock carvings apparently pre-dating modern Touaregs or at least parallel to their culture. These include writing and depiction of people and animals of all kinds, rendered either schematically or in great lifelike detail. Apparently modern Touaregs believe these were carved by a giant named Anegoura.. This may provide some clues as to thier attraction to stylized geometric representations.

This article dates from 1914, so it is old information and possible prone to error. I will try to find a copy of the article of Dr. Lloyd Cabot-Briggs you suggested Jim, as well as some newer sources.

I find this thread excellent, and I'm learning many new things. I hope the article is of some use to others.
Regards,
Emanuel

7th May 2006, 11:28 PM	#15
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hello, I have just found an informative (to me) French article on the Touareg, and it offers some good insights on these issues. Fr. de Zeltner. "Les Touareg Du Sud" The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 44. (Jul. - Dec., 1914), pp. 351-375. On social organization it says "Touareg society is divided into four castes: the nobles Imocher; the vassals Imrad; the captives Iklan; the craftsmen Inadan. This division is the same from west to east, but it varies in importance from place to place." In some areas vassals and captives may be "rich" while in others they are poor. While in the west captives may be oppressed and living in terrible conditions of poverty, in the east they may benefit of considerable trust from the nobles, dressing like them and even wearing arms. Here there is a distinction between the types of spears used: "...instead of the Allar, the great iron spear, they only have the Tarda, whose haft is wooden..." Further on, the articles touches upon armament, and once again presents a distinction between the types of spears. "...the Allar, made in one single piece, in iron, ornamented by a brass section; the tip is thin and leaf shaped with two barbs...it is never thrown...The captives wear the Tarda, whose tip is very large(wide), without barbs, the haft is wooden, and the lower extremity is ornamented with a talon widening in a spatula." The brass decoration on the nobles's spear may be to avoid touching the iron, but in absence of pictures I do not know where it would be placed. The article also gives basic descriptions of the Arrer shield, the Takouba and the Telek, and barbed javellins. It also covers crafts, giving examples of jewellery and leather containers like those posted by Tim. Apparently eastern crafts are far more delicate and intricate than western, possibly due to influences from the Haussa. While the Touarg generally follow Islam, it seems they kept a lot of their pre-Islam superstitions. The evil eye motif is very common, and everything is decorated in geometric patterns. As regards to metal objects, jewellery may be copper, brass or silver and gold, and I haven't founs any mention of iron and steel. The article provides a very interesting aside, introducing rock carvings apparently pre-dating modern Touaregs or at least parallel to their culture. These include writing and depiction of people and animals of all kinds, rendered either schematically or in great lifelike detail. Apparently modern Touaregs believe these were carved by a giant named Anegoura.. This may provide some clues as to thier attraction to stylized geometric representations. This article dates from 1914, so it is old information and possible prone to error. I will try to find a copy of the article of Dr. Lloyd Cabot-Briggs you suggested Jim, as well as some newer sources. I find this thread excellent, and I'm learning many new things. I hope the article is of some use to others. Regards, Emanuel Attached Images Last edited by Manolo; 7th May 2006 at 11:53 PM.