Tribe for women to 'relate' comfortably before getting married

 

For centuries, the nomadic Tuareg tribe has traveled throughout the Sahara desert, scattered from Libya to Algeria, the Niger and Mali of Africa, according to Every Culture.

Tribal men are called 'Sahara's bluish' because dyes from their special scarves seep into their skin, creating mysterious mysteries. Overall, the Tuareg nomadic tribe suggests nostalgic and romantic images, according to the Daily Mail.

But behind the ancient lifestyle is a very 'progressive' culture, which may even make some Westerners blush.

Tuareg men have to cover their faces and women do not.

Tuareg women, where a population of about 1 million people, are allowed to have multiple partners, keep all their assets after divorce and be revered by their son-in-law.

What's more surprising: although the tribe is Muslim, they have some customs that most Muslims do not accept. For example, women do not have to wear face masks, men must do so.

Photographer Henrietta Butler, who has been fascinated by the Tuareg tribe since following them through the desert in 2001, once asked why women do not cover their faces in Tuareg. The explanation is very simple.

'Women are very beautiful. We want to see their faces' , a Tuareg person replied to Butler.

Women have comfortable sex

The fact that women are exposed is certainly not the only thing that makes Tuareg different from the Muslim community in the Middle East or other cultures around the world.

Before marriage, women are free to have as many lovers as possible.

"They (the family) closed their eyes pretending not to know," Butler explained. 'Young girls have the same freedom as boys'.

Tuareg men can go to the young girl's tent, sneak in while his camel stands quietly waiting outside.

Before marriage, women are free to have as many lovers as possible.

In the tent, they will spend the night together while the girl's family (who also lives in a large tent with many private spaces) pretends not to notice.

If the girl wanted to welcome another man into the tent the next day, she could absolutely do so without being judged.

However, Tuareg also has some rules that no one dares to break. Privacy is important to this ancient tribe. Men always have to leave the woman's tent before the sun rises.

'Tuareg people are very discreet. Everything is done with utmost privacy and respect , 'Butler said.

Thanks to the open sex customs, girls often get married later than those in the strict customary tribes. Few girls in Tuareg get married at age 20.

In order to express affection for girls, Tuareg men, who have their own language, often write poetry. In return, the girls also wrote poetry to send to their loved ones.

"Women also write poems to praise the man ," Butler said. 'There is romance and idol here'.

The population of the Tuareg is currently about 1 million.

Women take power

Unlike many other cultures, Tureg women do not lose power after marriage.

Visitors to Tuarag's nomadic camp will often underestimate the power of women in tents, thinking that their only task is to cook and take care of their children.

But in fact, women own all tents and animals - invaluable resources for the Tuareg in the middle of the Sahara.

Journalist Peter Gwin said a nomad once told him: 'Pets are everything of the Tuareg. We drink milk, eat meat, use their skin and sell them. When the animal dies, the Tuareg dies'.

In Tuareg, many marriages ended in divorce. And when that happens, the wife keeps both pets and tents. Moreover, the wife is also often the one who decides to divorce.

After the divorce, the wife kept both pets, tents and children.

Tuareg couples have a clear agreement before marriage. In fact, men are forced to return to their mother's home after divorce, only to bring the camel back. Meanwhile, the wife owns everything she brings to this marriage, including children.

The mother's tent is 'the root of the community' , where people return when they meet, Bulter explained.

Divorce is never a shameful thing in Tuareg. Families often organize a daughter's party so that everyone knows that she has returned to a single state.

However, this is not a matriarchal society, where women are responsible for everything.

Butler explained that men are still "sitting down and talking politics". Women can be consultants. They are often asked by their son or husband and quietly ' snatched the rope behind'.

Women's opinions are highly respected in Tuareg.

There is certainly a much more strange tradition: men are not allowed to eat in front of older women in the family or people he does not have sex with, especially his mother-in-law.

"I didn't realize this until dinner with a Tuareg woman and her son-in-law," Butler recalls. 'We all sat down for dinner and the man turned his back. She said the poor man was very scared because he had to eat with his mother-in-law '.

Keep your identity

There are some cultural changes in the Tuareg tribe today. Female photographer Butler noticed that more and more women wore face masks. They say they wear towels for fashion, not for religion. However, Butler does not completely believe.

Andy Morgan, manager of the Tuareg music group, Tinariwen, once said in 2013 that some Tuareg people considered 'their culture obsolete and unrelated to the modern world'.

'They want Tuareg people to learn Arabic or the language of the wider Muslim community . They think that some aspects of Tuareg culture, especially music and dance, are vulgar and anti-religious. teacher. They oppose the freedom and social power of Tuareg women , 'Morgan said.

Tuareg people are very proud of their customs.

But there is still hope that Tuareg, the tribe that has existed for more than 1,000 years, will preserve their different traditions.

In general, Tuareg people still believe that their culture is more appropriate.

"They think they are superior to other races," Butler said. 'They are very proud. They certainly consider themselves superior to us. Perhaps they see other cultures quite stupid and primitive. '

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