The Tuareg community from West Africa has interesting family life aspects. The books, “A Nomad in Two Worlds” by Kemil and Fallon and “Tuareg Nation” by Worley present themes such as nomadism and pastoralism. “A Nomad in Two Worlds” is a story about the memories of Ahmed and his travelling experiences in both America and Niger (Kemil and Fallon 2013:6). On the other hand, “Tuareg Nation” reveals fundamental information about the Tuareg family life. Some of the aspects about the Tuareg family life evident in the two books include nomadism, division of labour, and the value of milk. Therefore, what do the aspects of the Tuareg family life entail?
The first aspect of Tuareg family life is nomadism. Tuaregs have no permanent homesteads since they constantly move to different places depending on the seasons. According to Worley (2014:40), the Tuaregs have annual transhumance to Azawakh valley. The Tuaregs undertake the migration during summer to take advantage of the available nutritious grass. In addition, they embrace pastoralism, given that they live in the desert (Kemil and Fallon 2013:3). While in the desert, they ensure that they find pasture for their animals. Therefore, the Tuareg family life is characteristic of nomadism and pastoralism.
The Tuareg family life readily embraces division of labour. Both the adults and youths have their duties to perform. In “A Nomad in Two Worlds,” Kemil and Fallon (2013:8) narrate an event where Ahmed has the responsibility of caring for the young camels. Ahmed performs the task as a youth at the age of seven years. Taking care of the young animals and preventing them from breastfeeding was the responsibility of the youth (Kemil and Fallon 2013:8). In addition, according to Worley (2014:44-45), whereas the concern of men was ensuring that the livestock was well attended to, the task of the women was to extract milk from the animals.
The last aspect of the Tuareg family life is the valuation and dependency on milk as a main source of food. According to Worley (2014:36), the Tuaregs success in pastoral nomadism relies on milk production. The Tuaregs have a proverb about milk, which suggests that milk is the sustainer of water and water is the soul of life. Even though water is a problem in the desert, the Tuaregs consider milk as the most essential need. Therefore, they are capable of surviving on milk alone when there is no food and water (Worley 2014:37).
In conclusion, the Tuareg family life is simple, and the simplicity is restricted to the Tuaregs, as they are the ones who understand the desert life best. For instance, they can survive on milk alone whenever there is a lack of food or water. A normal person without experience of desert life cannot manage to live without food and water. People consider food and water as the most fundamental inputs for survival. Therefore, the aspects make the Tuareg family life unique.
Works Cited
Kemil, Ahmed and Fallon Mary. A Nomad in Two Worlds. (Kindle Edition) Turmaline LLC, 2013. Print.
Worley, Barbara. Tuareg Nation. Unpublished Manuscript, 2014. Print.