Tuareg Society within a Globalized World Saharan Life in Transition

by Fischer, Anja; Kohl, Ines

• ISBN13: 9781848853706
• ISBN10: 184885370X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-15
• Publisher: Tauris Academic Studies

Summary

The Tuareg are an ancient nomadic people who follow Islam and have inhabited the Sahara for millennia. In what ways have the lives of the Tuareg changed, and what roles do they have, in a modern and increasingly globaliZed world? Here, leading scholars explore the many facets of contemporary Tuareg existence: from transnational identity to international politics, from economy to social structure, from music to beauty, from mobility to slavery. A tribe able to move freely across national borders, the Tuareg face the risk of marginalization by national and international politics, and are left without nationality or citizenship. At the same time, the Tuareg are seen as a link between the Arab and African worlds, and their familiarity with the Sahara makes them a port of call for African migrants traversing the desert to reach Europe. This is the first comprehensive study of the Tuareg today, which also explores the ways in which the Tuareg themselves are "moving global."

Author Biography

Ines Kohl is Lecturer in the Centre for Studies in Asian Cultures and Social Anthropology at the University of Vienna. Anja Fischer is Lecturer within the Department for Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Vienna.

Table of Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations	p. vii
Acknowledgements	p. x
Terminology and Transcription	p. xii
Tuareg Moving Global: An Introduction	p. 1
Where is Saharan Anthropology Going?
Research and Nomads in the Age of Globalization	p. 11
Tuareg Networks: An Integrated Approach to Mobility and Stasis	p. 23
Tuareg City Blues: Cultural Capital in a Global Cosmopole	p. 41
From Past to Present: Ongoing Discourses
Foreign Cloth and Kel Ewey Identity	p. 61
Genesis and Change in the Socio-political Structure of the Tuareg	p. 75
Tuareg Trajectories of Slavery: Preliminary Reflections on a Changing Field	p. 89
Diversified Norms and Values
The Price of Marriage: Shifting Boundaries, Compromised Agency and the Effects of Globalization on Iklan Marriages	p. 109
Debating Beauties: Contested and Changing Female Bodily Aesthetics of Fatness among the Tuareg	p. 125
Libya, the 'Europe of Ishumar': Between Losing and Reinventing Tradition	p. 143
The Ishumar Guitar: Emergence, Circulation and Evolution, from Diasporic Performances to the World Scene	p. 155
Between the Worlds: Tuareg as Entrepreneurs in Tourism	p. 171
Sahara: Global Playground
Ambiguous Meanings of Ikufar and their Role in Development Projects	p. 191
Resisting Imperialism: Tuareg Threaten US, Chinese and Other Foreign Interests	p. 209
Glossary	p. 231
Notes on the Contributors	p. 235
Notes	p. 239
References	p. 275
Index	p. 295
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