Tuareg

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The Tuareg (sometimes spelled Touareg in French, or Twareg in English) are a Berber ethnic group or nation. Tuareg is a name that became applied to them by early explorers and historians, but they call themselves variously, Kel Tamasheq, Kel Tamajaq ("speakers of Tamasheq"), Imouhar, Imuhagh, Imazaghan, or Imashaghen ("the free"). The Tuareg people also identify themselves with the concept Tamust, 'The Nation'. The meaning of the word Tuareg has been long discussed. It may have come from a Libyan region known today as Fezzan, but once called Targa. The Arabic word "Targui", for Tuareg, may have derived from the Targa valley, the main city Ubari west of Sebha. Alternatively, Tuareg may have come from a Bedouin pronunciation of the Arabic Tawariq ("abandoned by God", singular Tarqi). The Tuareg today are found mostly in West Africa, but, like many in Northern Africa, were once nomads throughout the Sahara.

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Berber: The Berbers (also called Imazighen, "free men", singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. There are between 14 and 25 million speakers of Berber languages in North Africa (see population estimation), principally con...

Ethnic group: An ethnic group is a culture or subculture whose members are readily distinguishable by outsiders based on traits originating from a common racial, national, linguistic, or religious source. Members of an ethnic group are often presumed to be culturally or biologically similar, although this is not ...

Nation: :For publications of this name, see also Nation (disambiguation)....

Tuareg related Images and Photos (experimental)

Tuareg Nomads with Camels in Sand Dunes of Sahara Desert Arakou

Tuareg Men Preparing for Tea Ceremony Outside a Traditional Homestead Timbuktu Mali

Perils of Nyoka Kay Aldridge in 'Chapter 8: Tuareg Vengeance' 1942