Gargando

After three days of travel we arrived in the Tuareg village of Gargando. As a result of the devastating droughts of the 1970's and 80's, in which nearly all of their livestock perished, many of the Malian Tuareg have abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and now live in more or less permanent encampments. One of the reasons Abubacrine and his older brother Cisse were so interested in our visiting Gargando was their sense that the culture of the Tuareg is on the edge of extinction. In many ways we were there to bear witness to the changing circumstances of these people and the gradual dissolution of a way of life that stretches back thousands of years.

During our three days in Gargando, Cisse and Abubacrine arranged for us to travel out into the desert and visit one of the rare nomadic encampments in the area. We were welcomed by the women and children, the men being off with the animals at a nearby well. By means of translation from Tomaschek (the language of the Tuareg) into French and then from French into English we learned that one of the things most valued by the Tuareg is the almost total self-sufficiency their nomadic lifestyle provides them. We saw and heard about the many items made by hand--from cradles to camel saddles--likewise we learned that the most independent of Tuareg herdsmen will sometimes live alone in the desert for months at a time, returning to camp only when their tea and sugar supply runs low.

After our visit to the nomadic encampment we were taken to a large rock formation, the size of a small hill, outside of Gargando. Cisse and his cousin wanted us to see this formation that had served as a military fortress for the Tuareg for many hundreds of years. On a small plateau about half-way up an area for the five daily prayers of Islam was pointed out, and, at the top we were shown a cavern to which young men came prior to their initiation ceremonies. Cisse's cousin, pictured on the left pointed out paintings and words written on the walls of the cavern which he thought to be quite old and which he said had not been studied. Another Malian in our group, Mohomodou Houssouba, confirmed that the script was an early form of Arabic that was used as late as 600AD. The point, it seemed, was not so much to impress us with where we were but to encourage us to tell others about it so the appropriate archeological and anthropological work might begin ... Others in the photo (from left to right) are Kathleen Massanari, Rachel Metzler and our host Cisse.

Before returning to Gargando we made a final stop at another permanent encampment where we were able to speak with the village chief. He invited us into his home, spread mats for us to sit on, and explained a bit about the political difficulties of the Tuareg. Since many Tuareg are still nomadic it is difficult for them to be included in the population census of Mali and this can lead to reductions in aid to the Tuaregs in general. Likewise, the education of the children is a challenge. Interestingly, Gargando is one of the oldest of Tuareg villages in Mali. It was founded nearly 100 years ago, when nearly 90% of the Tuaregs lived as nomads, as an educational center. Our host Cisse is a teacher at the secondary school in Gargando and he explained to us that a part of living in Gargando is being ready to provide room and board to students whose parents still live in the desert. At then end of our visit the chief arranged for some of the students to experience the Sahara from camel-back.

Our final night in Gargando a fete, or celebration, was arranged in our honor. This involved traditional Tuareg music and dance provided by members of the blacksmith caste. As in many cultures in West Africa, metal workers are considered spiritually advanced because their work involves the mastery of the four elements: earth, wind, fire and water. Interestingly, music and dance are also a part of their special province. We gathered at dusk atop a sand dune to the sounds of drumming and clapping. Curiously we could see no dancing. The reason for this is that almost all of the dancing is done in a seated position. While seated opposite one another the dancers, usually men, mirror elaborate hand gestures between them. As the dance reaches its peak the dancers begin to grunt and moan rhythmically while the women, playing drums made from a calabash placed over a container filled with water, sound their shrill and undulating cries. Eventually we were invited to join in the dancing.

After the dancing we were served a traditional Tuareg mishwee, a fabulous stew made from roast lamb mixed with rice. Along with the mishwee we were served fresh milk. Meat and milk, along with butter, are staples of the Tuareg diet.

The next morning we again mounted our trusty pick-up trucks for the trip to Tombouctou. Typically travel took place early in the morning allowing us to reach our destination before the hottest part of the day, which meant we sometimes rose and departed before 5:00 am. One of the fascinating parts of the voyage was getting to know the drivers who make their living in the desert. More often than not they navigate solely by landmarks, since there are no roads in northern Mali--and often no paths. In speaking with one of them he stated, "The most important thing about driving in the desert is not to think you have arrived before you have arrived." Pictured is Darren Bender along with two of our drivers examining the "map" for our day's journey.