Old Large Tuareg Hoggar Talisman – TERAOUT – Algeria

Metal sheet engraved with typical Tuareg protection symbols on iron sheet; copper decorations; leather. Grams. 218,5 (7.71 oz.); cm. 26,5 high x cm. 20,0 width (10.43” x 7.87″).

These large embossed pectorals Tera (singular: Teraout) are particularly appreciated by Tuareg Hoggar-Tassili women. They consist of an assembly in several flat triangular plates, coated with a plate of ordinary metal, which gives them a certain thickness. The Teraout, the masterpiece of wedding finery, is worn suspended from the neck and attached to the leather thong.

The Tuareg people inhabit a large area, covering almost all the middle and western Sahara and the north-central Sahel. They are probably descended from the ancient Libyan people of the kingdom of the Garamantes, described by Herodotus. Tuareg are mostly nomads. For over two millennia, the Tuareg operated the trans-Saharan caravan trade connecting the great cities on the southern edge of the Sahara via five desert trade routes to the northern coast of Africa (Mediterranean).

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