The road to Tombouctou

During the last week of May and the first week of June the Mali SST unit went on the road. The Malian countryside became our classroom and its people our teachers ... Our itinerary would bring us into close contact with two different ethnic groups in Mali--the Tuareg and the Dogon. We would also spend one night in legendary Tombouctou and hear a live concert by Grammy Award winning guitarist Ali Farka Toure. We traveled to the town of Niono via public transit on the first day. Niono is situated in a vast agricultural region known as the Office du Niger. Initiated during colonial times, the Office du Niger literally made the desert bloom by irrigating hundreds of thousands of acres with water from the Niger river. At the time of independence the rice grown in this regaion was so abundant that Mali was a net exporter of rice, since independence yields have fallen. Because of the water in and around Niono the mosquito population is both large and hungry, thus we strung netting for all of us that first night.

Among the Tuaregs

Since the paved road ends in Niono we boarded four-wheel drive pick-up trucks for our trip into the desert on the morning of the second day. Pictured atop the pick-up is Abubacrine, our Tuareg guide and friend. Around noon we stopped for a much needed rest from the sand and the sun in a small encampment on our way to the town of Lere. As was the case for much of the next two weeks, we prepared our own meals --under the guidance of Esther Kone--and boiled our own water for drinking.

Before departing from Lere we were all made "official" Tuaregs in a ceremony presided over by Abubacrine. Sometimes known as "the Blue Men of the Desert," the Tuareg are a nomadic group present in the Saharan and sub-Saharan regions of many West African countries. The Tuareg received this designation because many of them wore turbans died with indigo and over the years the color of the turban would stain their flesh blue. While the turban is an ethnic marker for the Tuareg it also serves a number of significant practical funtions. Obviously, a turban protects one's head from the sun, when properly wrapped it has a portion of cloth that can be pulled up over the mouth and nose. When worn this way it keeps out the sand but also serves to keep one's mouth from becoming dried-out and reduces feelings of thirst. Wearing a turban also makes one very aware of how one breathes ... an awareness practiced by many of the world's spiritual traditions.

At the great Islamic university in Tombouctou graduates during the middle ages were given turbans upon completing their studies. Depending upon the field of study and the level of advancement the turbans would be dyed different colors or worn in different fashions. Our Malian co-ordinator, Esther Kone, looked especially striking in her turban and this photo is included for the benefit of her husband who is studying English in Great Britain this year. While turbans are typically reserved for Tuareg men over the age of about 16, an exception was made for the Malian SST unit.