Western ethnologists see Tuareg art and crafts as a sort of coded, regular and well-defined language.
Indeed, in the past, the Tuaregs attached significant importance to signs. Certain symbols were supposed to have a protective power, mainly against the evil eye and the jinn living in the desert.
According to some anthropologists, the hung or placed open rings in “tesabit” earrings can symbolize the cycles of the cosmos, the nomadic way of life, and displacement and loneliness.
Make it stand out.
Tuareg jewellery is feminine, but some are masculine or mixed, such as rings, crosses and talismans, the "tsherot" (message written in Tamachek), created for a particular person with an objective of protection, it contains formulas.
The jewellery can be gathered in beautiful feminine pectoral adornments called "terewt". This imposing pectoral is the essential element of the adornment of women during major festivals and weddings.
Protected and Honored
For the Tuareg, metal is assoicated with a symbolic charge of protection.
The jewerly also serves a protective function. The triangle is considered a prophylactic sign and is often found in Tuareg adornments. Triangular pendants hanging from the bottom of the pendant bear the name “tishatshatin”, which protects from the evil eye.
The spellings carved have meanings. For example, the zigzags, which are found numerous on all parts of the jewellery, often evoke paths, movements, a fence or the flow of blood, links or separations on a territory. .
The central orifice, which is only found on some jewellery, represents the woman or a tent which is known to be the property of the woman.