The Indigo Blue men & their symbolic talismans..

[ënagualí ~ Ꮙℓἇ∂ἇ ኔጡ።]

The Indigo Blue men & their symbolic talismans..

Highly codified among the Tuareg, whether nomadic or sedentary from Tassili N'ajjer to Adagh of the ifoghas, beauty is conceptualized. "In this desert country, physical beauty put into poetic words has the virtue of shade and water - it quenches thirst".

Aesthetics have long been the prerogative of the nobility who are distinguished by sobriety and temperance. The shield and the mehari for the man, the imzad for the woman, are as much assets as markers of affiliation; they are an extension of prestige, they dictate the attitude to be held within society.

The aesthetic ideal of "blue men"

Impregnated with the mineral world and the cosmos, the perception of beauty in blue men draws its inspiration and its resources from nature, it is its imitation and its extension. To merge into the cosmos is one of the blue man's greatest vocations. The influence of physical qualities echoes moral and allegorical qualities. They are nicknamed "The Blue Men" because of the indigo hue that characterizes their appearance.

Before its synthesis at the beginning of this century, indigo was extracted from the indigo tree, a very popular and expensive dye plant. The bluing process was entrusted to Hausa dyers in Kano, Nigeria. Tunics, veils and other clothes are tricked into indigo. Once worn, they rub off on the face, giving it a special and mysterious appearance. The temples, cheeks, lips and other visible parts are also rubbed with El Taguelmoust (cheche). "The bluish black (tasattaft) is indeed considered to be the color of origins, that of time and space before birth".

The dialectic of the blue men is based on the dichotomous principle: Hot / cold. Lightness / weightlessness. Dexterity / nonchalance.

This union of opposites finds its most eloquent meaning through the symbolism of indigo. Both dark and shiny, it is the perfect oxymoron, reflecting the dynamics of the unexpected ephemeral and the immutable infinity.

The cosmic sphere guides the nomad's footsteps, it is one of the greatest sources of poetic inspiration: "the bluish black sparkling like Pleiades at midnight". Indigo, the "seventh color" of the rainbow, has the virtue of appeasing tormented spirits and alleviating the harshness of Ténéré. It also allows you to blend into the universe.

A carefully maintained philosophy, stemming from a rigorous education which cradles the collective imagination and conditions the social space. The Tuareg's preserve, safe from alteration, an ideal and a thousand-year-old legacy in which pageantry and physical attractiveness, as well as sophistication, shape the identity of the individual and underline his belonging.

Beauty is one of the most explored inspirational themes since ancient times. The perception of the beautiful knowingly obeys convenience and a schematized dialectic, becoming an intrinsic philosophy, an aesthetic ideal and a quest for perfection.

The cross of Agadez hides a beautiful Tuareg love story

The cross of Agadez would be a message of love according to a popular Tuareg legend.

A young man wanted to declare his love for the young girl of his heart but he did not know how to do it because she was locked up in her house. He had the idea of ​​calling on the village blacksmith. You should know that the blacksmith has a very important place in Tuareg society because it is he who manufactures kitchen instruments, who manufactures all the metal parts that one may need and who also manufactures jewelry for women. As such, he has the right to enter all the families with whom he trades, and even in the event of war, he is one of those whose life is preserved. This is to say its importance.

Tuareg's Talisman bags - ancient craft

So our blacksmith is entrusted with the mission of transmitting a message of love. How to do ? How to say his love in all discretion? It will be a jewel that will carry the message LOVE.

LOVE is T (o) R (a) in Tamachek (the language of the Tuaregs), which is represented by the signs + and O in the Tifinagh alphabet. The flourishes around being there to make up a too explicit message, and perhaps also to make it prettier. There you have it, it only remained for our blacksmith to find a pretext to go to the beauty's home, discreetly slip the jewel into her hand and the mission was accomplished.

[Tara]

Wow