A TUAREG IN HIS NATIONAL COSTUME.
“The women, however, picked up the swords, the spears, and the daggers, with which they faced the enemy and drove them off.
“From that day, to show their admiration for the conduct of their wives, and their shame for their own cowardice, the men wore the veil and the women left their features exposed to view.”
In addition to the veil the Tuaregs wear a tunic of lustrous black cotton, which falls nearly to the ankles, and in the front of which is a huge pocket.
The Tuareg who wishes to be very “chic,” to use the last slang expression in vogue in France and England, has this pocket made of red material; but whatever the colour it is always of huge size. It is difficult to imagine what quantities of things that pocket will hold. In it a Tuareg can stow away yards upon yards of stuff, any amount of beads, whole coverlets, etc., etc.; and to see him dispose of everything in such a limited space, reminds one of the conjurors who put a cannon ball, a cage full of birds, and a bowl with gold fish all into a single nut.
Long wide trousers envelope the lower part of the body, and are drawn in at the waist with running strings, whilst sandals made of ox or antelope hide protect the feet from the burning heat of the sun-parched sand.
The costume is completed by quantities of little leather sachets, containing amulets, hung round the neck on thin cords. These amulets protect their wearer from all evil influences, and secure to him all the good things his heart desires.
The weapons of a Tuareg are all what the French call armes blanches, that is to say, swords, spears, daggers, etc., and it is rare indeed for any of them to own firearms. Even if they have them they will not use them unless they are positively driven to do so. They have a kind of superstitious dread, and at the same time a contempt for guns. “They are not weapons worthy of a man,” say these Tuaregs, who admit that their women excel them in courage.
The national weapon par excellence is the so-called tellak or short dagger, the sheath of which is fastened to the left wrist with a leather armlet. The hilt of this tellak is of the shape of a cross, and the wearer is not at all inconvenienced by wearing it. He generally rests his hand on the hilt when he is not using the weapon. If he is threatened with any danger, the dagger is drawn from the sheath with the right hand in an instant.
The spear or lance is generally made entirely of iron, except for certain copper ornaments; a few, however, have wooden handles, though the actual weapon is of metal. The Ihaggaren alone have the right of wearing the iron spear, and the so-called takuba or sword worn at the side, suspended on a cotton or silk cord.