Tuareg people
Berber people of the Sahara desert with a nomadic pastoralist lifestyle
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The Tuareg (Arabic: طوارق, sometimes spelled Touareg in French, or Twareg in English) are a Berber ethnic group. The Tuareg today lives mostly in West Africa, but they were once nomads that moved throughout the Sahara. They used their own writing known as the tifinaɤ.
Kel Tamasheq ⴾⵍⵜⵎⴰⵣⵗⵜ طوارق | |
---|---|
Total population | |
c. 3 million | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Niger | 2,116,988 (8.7% of its total population)[1] |
Mali | 536,557 (2.6% of its total population)[2] |
Burkina Faso | 370,738 (1.85% of its total population)[3] |
Algeria | 25,000–150,000 (0.36% of its total population) |
Tunisia | 2,000 (nomadic, 0.018% of its total population) |
Languages | |
Tuareg languages (Tafaghist, Tamahaq, Tamasheq, Tamajeq, Tawellemmet), Maghrebi Arabic, French, Hassaniya Arabic | |
Religion | |
Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Berbers, Hausa people |
Today most Tuaregs are Muslim. Their most important leader was a woman. Tuareg men use veils, but not women. Their families are matrilinear.
References
change- ↑ "The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2016-10-08., Niger: 11% of 18.6 million
- ↑ Pascal James Imperato; Gavin H. Imperato (2008). Historical Dictionary of Mali. Scarecrow. p. lxxvii. ISBN 978-0-8108-6402-3., Mali: 3% of 17.9 million population
- ↑ "The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2016-10-08., Burkina Faso: 1.9% of 19.5 million