Category Archives: Mali

Tuareg Blues


[Tuareg man serving tea; photo by Jane Greenhalgh for NPR.]

“Climate Connections” on today’s NPR website has a slideshow and brief article on recent changes in Tuareg lifestyle in southern Mali. Known as the “Blue Men” of the desert (for their indigo clothing) and serving as a prime ethnographic example of a society where the men (rather than the women) veil, life for the Tuareg is undergoing rapid change. In this case it is prolonged drought that has served as the main impetus for change. The slide feature is well worth a look.