Touareg (1948)

[Music] the great desert of North Africa Sahara wind swept Sun scorched through a 100 centuries into a subcontinent of shifting sand and massive Rock harboring in its midst the looming mountains of the hogar unknown feared barriers hostile to all forms of life here the Cradle of The twareg Nomad masters of the [Music] desert here each new life treasured cherished by custom nursed in the familiar Sheltering tents of the mother's family to the father waiting in his distant Camp these Tidings sped a new Lord has begun his journey through this desert his domain the eroded relic of a once humid forest and fertile grassland his Birthright the to command the trade routs of the Caravans a Heritage embedded for 10,000 years in tware Rule and tradition passed on in the camps of the ruling cast handed down in the custom and ceremony of the veiled Nobles thus to the Elders of the father's Camp is rendered the honor of Choosing by luck the name of the newborn [Music] son a name which the father speeds back to the camp of his wife's family family with gifts for the mother and her little prince this goat freshly killed a token of his Joy this piece of cloth a token of his affection gifts to speed the day of their return from birth the new Lord born white of skin a pure-blooded twareg is Undisputed Master of the [Music] tents his first journey home to the camp of the Father the beginning of his endless Trek across the desert wherein the twareg the trail and the camel become one and wherever tware Camp is pitched there is firmly stake the influence of the wife and the mother for it is by her sure knowledge that she sets the foundation and holds together her family teaching her daughter the crafts of the tent the recipes for survival guiding the first faltering steps of those least able to Bear the rigors of a nomad life [Music] [Music] here a young Mahari camel is a prized possession the real wealth of the tribe and the children are early taught the lore and skill of its care [Music] thus in the Perpetual shifting of the camp the young Lord will learn of The NeverEnding search for pasture and water for his tribe will prosper only by the well-being of its camels thus his duty clear to him to feed the herd to learn their every need and mood to be ready to help The Herder tend his flux the Sheep the goats the camels their milk the sustenance and Mainstay of theare the chill of Darkness ends a day of chores and a warming fire stirs the tongue to Legend the tales and exploits of the ancient warrior Lords from his Elders the young Noble hears of the Rays into Algeria and Tunis of the days when Queens ruled the tare and the imar the nobles were truly independent and free to raave to loot to pillage thus fired by the heroic Tales of his Elders the young Lord eagerly awaits the day of his initiation into tware manhood that day of ceremony when a proud father confers upon his son the traditional symbols of tuare nobility the tagelus the veil to be worn unto death the takuba the sword Badge of the warrior reminiscent of the Crusaders there is a new master of the desert with all the dignity and pride of a warrior Lord ready to take his place in the AO the center of tware social life where each Noble in the manner of the Knights of medieval Europe pays tribute to the lady of his choice coming from afar to seek her favor in song and verse and games of [Music] wit and thus to win by her consent his reward her hand in marriage to the camp of his beloved to the Feast of marriage he brings the traditional gift of a noble seven white men camels evidence of his wealth and his endearments his di to his bride then begin the festivities the songs of marriage the displays of skill on the swiftest camels by the finest Riders [Music] [Music] [Applause] for the bridal tent a bed of sand its first stake a firm foundation for its Sheltering skins swung in a gesture of incantation to ward off the demons and the evil spirits to protect this new [Music] home within the tent the bridegroom and his family await the bride hidden by her friends and relatives she approaches the sword of the groom's cousin bars her entrance demanding a traditional bribe and according to custom he is offered a pair of sandals by the family of the bride at last she may enter the tent right foot first for luck festivities reach a new pitch and for seven days the guests will [Music] peace now entrusted to each other they will remain for one year in her father's Camp a time to be remembered [Music] then one day like the rising wind of the desert his friend sweeped down to take the young Lord and his lady back to the camp of his father a symbolic kidnapping to Mark the end of a Carefree year and a return to the duties of a noble [Music] for every Autumn the tware round up their finest camels fresh from pasture for the never- ending salt Caravans of the Sahara from Far a field the Nobles assemble at the Caravan camps in the foothills of the desert mountains a spirit of excitement in the air in every preparation in the loading of the salt blocks brought down from the mines and pits of the north securing the bags of fodder tightening the pack saddles for the last time readying the camels and the great Tre into the South lands of the Sahara begins 2,000 miles of burning sand and cutting wind stretching into days weeks [Music] [Music] months salt for Nigeria and the Sudan to trade and barter for grain and goods a cargo of a caravan 5,000 camel strong [Music] its drivers halting by the chill of night to rest among the Bales and [ __ ] to warm the stomach with aing a thin GRL of millet mixed with water and cheese their main stay each spoon full measur for the veiled men know days without food without water and hunger is ever present with the tware on the trail and in the camps the sustenance of the tribe is in the hands of the women in their primitive formulas for survival and in the waiting months their Artisan skill becomes a practical Alchemy transforming the hide of the sheep and goats into things of use and value their only tools a sharp blade and depth fingers thus the hair of the camel is spun into yarn for the ornaments the tassels of the harness and the Art of a hundred 100 centuries is woven into the very texture of the MS hammered into the brass and copper of the jewelry the handiwork of the Enad the Smith of the camps through the months of separation the leather dolls for the children are fashioned in the image of their tware lord who is on the distant trail of his Caravan divining by the desert game of Al karat the welfare of his family tracing in the sand the tales of other Caravans The Adventures of earlier times of raids for serfs and slaves of days of conquest and the great Sahara still the domain of the tware their constant Caravans moving north to south south to North across their empire the kingdom of the Sun the wind and the sand [Music]