Shamir baba
Professor: Barbara Worley
ANTH: PEOPLE AND CULTURE OF AFRICA
11/24/2014
Ethnic Group To Nation?
As Africans’ states are marching toward the idea of nationalism they are failing to recognize indigenous groups presence within the borders. Tuaregs are among those groups feeling left out. Tuaregs are minorities in good number of countries they live in, and that makes it difficult for them to make their voices heard. The transition towards Modernization has had massive impact in the livelihood of various indigenous groups in the continent of Africa. This paper will talk the book “Tuareg Nation”; it will try to make a connection on the subject of Colonialism impact on ethnic groups and the idea of nationalism in Africa.
Unlike others ethnic groups in the continent, Tuarag people have been able to maintain most of their traditions, however now they are facing though challenges to preserve those way of living and surviving that they inherited from their predecessors. In the book “Tuareg Nation” the author explains the livelihood of the Tuaregs in the deserts, their activities, rituals, traditions and the struggle they have to endure all year around as a nomad group. We learn that Animals mean everything to them, they trade them, use them for labor and nutrition (Worley, pg38). Barbara Worley is in the center stage in this book as she shares her experience with the Tuaregs to the readers. Worley who is an American anthropologist, takes the readers on her journey in the desert with the Tuaregs. The book tells stories that readers don’t usually get to hear or read about ethnic groups.
The live of nomadic groups have always been challenging, whether it comes down to settle in one place or to move to another. Even worse the current state of the world is making the lives of those groups even harder. Usually voiceless they have to face themselves against government orders. Consequently they are force to compromise or being walked-over. The goal of the book is to give readers an understanding and image on the way of living of the Tuareg people. It shows how families function and how community strive for survival and preservation of cultural elements. A Group of people who are notably known for moving from place to place now they is becoming more and more limited and restricted. They are told to leave their settlements and ending up in places that do not along with their style of living.
Tuaregs are not the only group dealing with this situation there are others as Massai in the eastern part of the continent and Bushman in the southern. If we want to look at the root of the cause we can trace it back many years back. In relation with what we learned in class the famous “Conference of Berlin” messed up everything; it would’ve been a little better if Europeans took consideration ethnicity groups and the people cultural differences. However they divide it, as it was a peace of cake. And this is one of