Few people maintain a more traditional and authentic way of life than the Tuareg. And in Morocco it is possible to find them, if you travel to certain areas of the country. In this post we explain who they are, where the Tuareg live in Morocco and what their lifestyle is like, so different from the globalized one that prevails in the Western world.
Who are the Tuareg
Tuareg is a term used to designate, in general, the members of the “nomadic Berber people of the Sahara”, as stated in the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
It is true that this is a very broad concept, since this town extends across vast areas of this immense desert and also reaches the Sahel. The countries where they are most numerous are Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, but they are also present in some areas of southeastern Morocco.
The most important thing about the Tuareg in Morocco and in any other country is their nomadic way of life: instead of living in permanent settlements, they settle in tent camps that they set up and dismantle according to their route. These tents are tents with a light wooden structure and canvas made of different materials, including animal hair and skins.
Precisely, animals are one of their most precious resources: they have livestock that they graze in the areas in which they move, and from them they obtain milk and other raw materials. In the case of dromedaries, they are also their means of transportation, so important for carrying out another of the activities associated with this people: the commercial caravans that crossed the desert, like the mythical Marrakech-Timbuktu. Therefore, it is a species especially appreciated by them.
Another common distinctive feature of the Tuareg in Morocco and elsewhere is their predilection for the color blue. Some time ago it was due to the availability of indigo dye, which they used to dye their turbans and to cover their skins in certain social rituals. And today they maintain it as an authentic hallmark.
Despite living in the harsh conditions of the desert and being accustomed to peace and silence, they are a very hospitable people who politely receive those who come to learn about their way of life, as long as this is done with respect and through people. Trustworthy.
Where there are Tuareg in Morocco
To find Tuareg communities in Morocco it is necessary to travel to the southeast of the country. Especially to areas of the ‘purest’ desert, such as the dunes around Merzouga, Ouzina or Zagora. Some people from this town have also reoriented themselves to tourism, turning their traditional way of life into an attraction for travelers who want to feel the experience of living in the desert for a few days. Therefore, in these destinations in Morocco you will find camps with the atmosphere typical of this nomadic Berber people, but with all the comforts that a modern traveler demands.
How to discover your way of life
At Morocco Tourism we consider that traveling is a way to get to know other cultures and customs. For this reason, in many of our circuits we include experiences of coexistence with desert nomads. On some of the days of our longest desert circuits, we visit Berber families with a nomadic tradition who partly maintain their old way of life.
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It is true that many of them are in the process of becoming sedentary, using stable adobe constructions and often replacing the dromedary with the 4×4. But spending some time with them is enough to realize the weight that the elements that we saw above still have: livestock grazing, the use of the scarce natural resources of the environment and life in fabric tents that are assembled and dismantled with surprising ease.