39 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



respect to strangers: the men, 

 on the other hand, never take 

 it off, even at meals or during 

 sleep. The hair is shaved, 

 but the men leave a ridge or 

 cockscomb to keep the veil 

 raised off the head. 



The main ornaments of the 

 Tuaregs are small leather bags 

 containing charms, which hang 

 round the neck. They also wear 

 necklaces of copper beads. A 

 stone ring, usually of serpentine, 

 fastened on the left arm above 

 the wrist, is an ornament which 

 is also useful in hand-to-hand 

 fighting. The main weapon of 

 the Tuaregs is the dagger, hung 

 on the left wrist by a leather 

 loop: in war they carry a 

 double-edged sword, an iron 

 lance, used either for thrusting 

 or throwing, and a round 

 leather shield. Some of the 

 Western Tuaregs use bows and 

 arrows. 



The horses are small but 

 strong; their saddles are made 

 of wood covered with leather; the stirrups are very small, and only the big toe rests in them. 

 The camel is a more important domestic animal than the horse. 



The dwellings of the Tuaregs are mostly of skins resting on a light wooden framework; 

 but straw huts are also used. They have a few towns, especially in the south. Thus most 

 of the people of Say are Tuaregs. But Say, though a large town, is very inferior to those of 

 the Haussa. The houses are mere straw huts with pointed roofs. There is but one mud 

 house, which is occupied by the chief. The stockade round Say is said to be also made of 

 straw. Some other Tuareg towns are better built; thus Ghat, which is five miles in circumference, 

 consists of houses made of mud and date-palm timber. 



The military system of the Tuaregs is feudal. Each head of a district has to maintain a 

 force of armed retainers ready for service whenever called for. 



A Tuareg marries only one wife. The preferences of the women are consulted in 

 marriage, and a woman may refuse any suitor for whom she does not care. After marriage 

 her position is one of freedom, which is never abused, and of influence, which is always on 

 the side of refinement. The women are more cultured than the men; and among one group, 

 the Asgars, most of the women can read and write. The men are generally attached to their 

 wives, and a good deal of the native poetry is devoted to the praise of women. Women, 

 moreover, hold property in their own right; and as they are not bound to contribute 

 to the household expenses, they are usually richer than their husbands. Daughters inherit 

 an equal share with the sons in the ordinary property of their parents, while whatever has 

 been captured in war falls to the lot of the eldest daughter's eldest son. 



The domestic virtues of the Tuaregs are also illustrated by their treatment of their 

 slaves, a Negro caste known as the Bellates. According to Lieutenant Hourst, the slaves 

 are so attached to their masters that the French have not succeeded in detaching a single 



Photo by M. Pierre Petit] 



TWO NUBIAN GIRLS. 



