Articles

Berber Tribes – Ait Atta

The Ait Atta (Tamazight language: ⴰⵢⵜ ⵄⴻⵟⵟⴰ) are a large Berber tribal confederation of South eastern Morocco. They are divided into "five fifths" (khams khmas), all said to descend from the forty sons of their common ancestor Dadda Atta ("Aït" has the meaning of "people of" in the Tamazight language):...

Tcherot Talisman

The Tcherot are talismans, worn by the Tuareg in the Sahara and by other Berber people in the extreme south of Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania. They are supposed to bring luck and blessings (baraka) and drive away evil. The effectiveness of the talismans lies in the belief in their intrinsic...

I Tessuti Kuba

Una delle più interessanti produzioni tessili dell’Africa per quanto riguarda l’uso del segno è, senza dubbio, quella dei Kuba. I Kuba, costituiscono una grande confederazione tribale che risiede in Congo, nella regione del fiume Kasai, i cui principali gruppi etnici sono i bushoong, gli shoowa, gli ngongo e gli ngeende. I...

Ethiopian Tribes – Hamar

The Hamar (approx. population 61,000) are principally pastoralists, breeding cattle, goats and sheep. They have a similar veneration for cattle as their close neighbors. As with the majority of tribes in the area, the land in not owned by individuals; it is free for use by any member of the...

Ethiopian Tribes – Mursi

The Mursi (approx. population in 2014: 7,500) live in an almost inaccessible area between the Mago and Omo Rivers. They are predominantly pastoral but also engage in limited agriculture. The Mursi are a tall, striking race, with an aggressive reputation. The men only wear a blanket tied over one shoulder, the...

Ethiopian Tribes – Dassanech

The Dassanech live around the Omo delta on the northern side of Lake Turkana. They practice flood retreat cultivation, pastoralism and fishing. The Dassanech are the most southerly tribe living in Ethiopia’s Omo valley. The lands of the Dassanech are semi-arid and they live where the Omo delta enters Lake...

Dogon Sun Amulet

Nonostante sia stato scritto moltissimo circa questo misterioso popolo, l’interesse dell’Occidente per i Dogon è molto recente. Solo nel 1931 Marcel Griaule, etnologo francese, capita quasi per caso ai piedi della falesia Bandiagara, in Mali: rimarrà folgorato dal contatto con i Dogon, al punto che decide di consacrare i successivi...