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nomads |
In Morocco there are still traces from caravans, we can find them on musics and dances of Southern tribes. There are also people that used to go from M’hamid (Morocco) to Timbuktu (Mali) or to Mauritania, by walk, becoming an incredible source on caravans. Today, most of these routes are closed because wars and diplomatics conflicts between countries that keep their borders closed, like the Moroccan-Algerian one.
Besides caravans, there are also nomad families living in the desert, changing their settlements every three weeks, depending on water, or travelling to the mountains in summer time (transhumance). They used to move following the caravan routes, where they can find water.
We had the opportunity to sleep with them and to talk about a lot of subjects concerning nomadism, desert problems and the future of their societies. These are some testimonies.
Besides caravans, there are also nomad families living in the desert, changing their settlements every three weeks, depending on water, or travelling to the mountains in summer time (transhumance). They used to move following the caravan routes, where they can find water.
We had the opportunity to sleep with them and to talk about a lot of subjects concerning nomadism, desert problems and the future of their societies. These are some testimonies.
erg chegaga |
by Carlos Perez Marin
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This family was settled down near Erg Chegaga, 50 kilometres ouest of M'hamid El Ghizlane, Zagora. They stayed for three weeks in the same place, using a small Talha (Acacia tree) as protection and structure for their temporary construction. The group was composed by one old man, his wife, one daughter, two daughters in law and two grandchildren. The rest of the men where in M'hamid, working in tourism. They also had sheep, goats, chickens and one donkey. The old man explained that he preferred to live in the desert, moving, rather than staying in a city, even when he visited some relatives in M'hamid or Zagora, he slept on the roof instead of in a room, for him a room is like a prison cell, he needed to watch the stars every night, it didn't matter if it was cold or not.
Pictures: © Carlos Perez Marin
shepherds in tighmert |
by Carlos Perez Marin
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These nomads live near Tighmert, in the Guelmim province (a region known in the past as Oued Noun), where they raise a herd of camels (between 100 and 200). They have been in the Azouafit territory for 6 months because they can find water easily, in fact they settle down just 5 km away from Tighmert spring, a spring that has always water, which was the main reason caravans arrived to that region and to that place, because of water. They have a camp between hills but during the day they must move constantly searching for camel's food and every two days they come to the spring with to camels.
The way they earn their lives is selling milk and camels (Guelmim is a region where people use to eat a lot of camel meat). They milk the camels twice per day, one at midnight and another around 6am, which means, they sleep just 5 hours per day. They are nomads but they use motorbikes and a Land Rover Defender to move around, to watch the camels or for trading in Guelmim market.
The way they earn their lives is selling milk and camels (Guelmim is a region where people use to eat a lot of camel meat). They milk the camels twice per day, one at midnight and another around 6am, which means, they sleep just 5 hours per day. They are nomads but they use motorbikes and a Land Rover Defender to move around, to watch the camels or for trading in Guelmim market.
Pictures: © Carlos Perez Marin
tighmert |
by Carlos Perez Marin
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Ali's family is installed in two tents near Tighmert oasis. When we arrived, before the sunset, there was nobody, the Land Rover Defender has one door open, the tents had just fabric moved by wind as doors and you could come inside... It seemed as if the place was abandoned. One our later, just before sunset, the family arrived with all their animals and of course they invited us (we were four) to have dîner and to sleep with them in their tents. It was very curious when they started to call their relatives in Europe, they just wanted them to translate us how happy they were to have visit, because the last time they had one, it was one year ago.
Pictures: © Carlos Perez Marin
interviews |
by Carlos Perez Marin
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We have made a series of interviews to Mokhtar, a Moroccan nomad living around M'hamid El Ghizlane, Zagora. When he was younger he used to travel with caravans to Northern Mali (also to Mauritania), where he still has family. He is always very kind and ready to tell us stories about caravans and the desert.
video: © Carlos Perez Marin
When you spend a lot of time in the desert, your health can be affected by the sun, the wind and the heat, having hallucinations and dizziness, having new companies in your journey, companies that are only in your head, sometimes they are just phantoms, others, it can be even the Devil.
One day he went with his brother to a place near Erg Chegaga, passing through a cemetery where their grandmother is buried. While they were walking, Mokhtar has heard strange sounds, sometimes they stopped but then they started again. He asked his brother if he heard the same thing, and he answered affirmative. They did not know if they were made by people trying to scare them or preparing to assault them. Mokhtar told him, "we cannot be afraid of anybody, we must be just afraid of God and to people that walk" (which means to human beings). "And what if it was the Devil?" asked his brother. Mokhtar said, "no, you have to turn around with your stones" (Arabe expression). At that moment a stone felt down near him and then another and another, they were really afraid because they thought the Devil was there, with them...
You can also have problems with supplies. Once upon a time, they had nothing to eat and he talked to his brother whether to kill a camel or not to survive. They decided they needed it to arrive to an oasis, that's why they "just" cut and ate his ears, without killing the camel, and they could all survive.
Another interesting, and revealing, story was the night he arrived to a village after a long journey in the desert. He was having dinner in a house with other people when he fell asleep, because of the fatigue, in the same room people was still eating. In the middle of the night he woke up screaming: "Help me! Help me! I cannot see! Help me, I cannot see! I have gone blind!" When the others woke up they tried to calm him down:"Mokhtar, calm down, we are going to turn on the lights" They did it and Mokhtar suddenly realised he did not go blind, he just woke up in a room where he could not see the stars.
One day he went with his brother to a place near Erg Chegaga, passing through a cemetery where their grandmother is buried. While they were walking, Mokhtar has heard strange sounds, sometimes they stopped but then they started again. He asked his brother if he heard the same thing, and he answered affirmative. They did not know if they were made by people trying to scare them or preparing to assault them. Mokhtar told him, "we cannot be afraid of anybody, we must be just afraid of God and to people that walk" (which means to human beings). "And what if it was the Devil?" asked his brother. Mokhtar said, "no, you have to turn around with your stones" (Arabe expression). At that moment a stone felt down near him and then another and another, they were really afraid because they thought the Devil was there, with them...
You can also have problems with supplies. Once upon a time, they had nothing to eat and he talked to his brother whether to kill a camel or not to survive. They decided they needed it to arrive to an oasis, that's why they "just" cut and ate his ears, without killing the camel, and they could all survive.
Another interesting, and revealing, story was the night he arrived to a village after a long journey in the desert. He was having dinner in a house with other people when he fell asleep, because of the fatigue, in the same room people was still eating. In the middle of the night he woke up screaming: "Help me! Help me! I cannot see! Help me, I cannot see! I have gone blind!" When the others woke up they tried to calm him down:"Mokhtar, calm down, we are going to turn on the lights" They did it and Mokhtar suddenly realised he did not go blind, he just woke up in a room where he could not see the stars.
video: © Carlos Perez Marin
Mokhtar explains the itineraries in his caravans from M'hamid El Ghizlane to Merzouga (10 days), to Guelmim (15 days) and to Timbuktu in Mali (45 days). For example he talks about a water well on the way to Timbuktu, the water was so deep (and so pure) that camels have to walk during 15 minutes to raise the bucket attached to them with ropes, with a length of hundreds of meters. In other cases, water was just a few centimetres deep but with a very poor quality, becoming a very dangerous intake.
video: © Carlos Perez Marin
Just after finishing Qafila Oula (in 2016), we met Mokhtar again in M'hamid and this time we had some questions according to our experience walking through the desert with nomads, doing the same route caravans did.
Mokhtar explained us that caravans could be composed by 40 camels, depending on the merchandise and the destination (Mali or Mauritania), he travelled with caravans until the end of the 80s. He also described the villages and oases he crossed heading to Timbuktu, where caravans met, and so families, and where he could get water. In some places, they could stayed camped six months with the tents, if there was water.
For him, his father was a wise. He used clouds as a reference, for example, if they saw clouds heading north, he knew he was arriving to the Drâa valley in Zagora (because there are always clouds on that valley). Once they knew they were close to their homes, they could walk day and night (they stopped just two hours to sleep) till Boudribila, a place where people came to spend the summer.
He talked us about the salt trade and the caravans that came to Mali just to get salt. It could be found under the sand. The caravans started the march at 4am, they stopped for lunch (the food was based on rice) and for a short rest at 1pm and they continued till the sunset. They were around 40 camels and people could walk next to the camels or they could ride on them. The camels walked on line, one after another in order to protect themselves from sand and wind.
The caravans to Timbuktu could have 60 camels, separated in two groups. There was always one person at the end, to check no camel was detached from his predecesor and got lost. That was the case there were several people conducting the caravan, but if there were just two, they used objects attached to the last camel that made some noise with the movement, so, if they did not hear the noise it was because something was going wrong. If it was salt trade, they needed at least 4 strong men to charge properly the salt on camels, they had to do it at a once in each side of the camel. The guide of the caravan was called "Amenir", he knew very well the desert, the route, the places with water, its names... When they could not find water, they sent someone ahead to find it and guide the caravan. Sometimes, in dry regions they have to charge also food for the camels.
According to Mokhtar, there were four big camel markets, one in Guelmim, another in Mali, other in Bir Moghrein (?) and the fourth in Tania, near Tindouf, a place that was a crossroad for caravans.
About the situation nowadays concerning caravans, Mokhtar told us they cannot cross the Algerian border now, it was not a problem in the past, nobody asked where did you come from or where did you heading to, you could go and settle wherever you wanted... Not any more.
There were caravans leaving from Tinghir (Errachidia, Morocco) and heading to Taoudenni and then to Timbuktu (Mali). Later they continued to Mauritania to buy clothes and fabrics because the best were there. Each caravan must have a guide, it is very important. The Sahrawi people are the ones who lead the caravans. They know the desert, the changes, the sand, the territory... They know where they can settle down, where they can make a fire to cook. The others guide, they do not really know where they must pass, just the Sahrawi people know the region, they can walk by night using the stars as references, even when the sky is cloudy...
Mokhtar explained us that caravans could be composed by 40 camels, depending on the merchandise and the destination (Mali or Mauritania), he travelled with caravans until the end of the 80s. He also described the villages and oases he crossed heading to Timbuktu, where caravans met, and so families, and where he could get water. In some places, they could stayed camped six months with the tents, if there was water.
For him, his father was a wise. He used clouds as a reference, for example, if they saw clouds heading north, he knew he was arriving to the Drâa valley in Zagora (because there are always clouds on that valley). Once they knew they were close to their homes, they could walk day and night (they stopped just two hours to sleep) till Boudribila, a place where people came to spend the summer.
He talked us about the salt trade and the caravans that came to Mali just to get salt. It could be found under the sand. The caravans started the march at 4am, they stopped for lunch (the food was based on rice) and for a short rest at 1pm and they continued till the sunset. They were around 40 camels and people could walk next to the camels or they could ride on them. The camels walked on line, one after another in order to protect themselves from sand and wind.
The caravans to Timbuktu could have 60 camels, separated in two groups. There was always one person at the end, to check no camel was detached from his predecesor and got lost. That was the case there were several people conducting the caravan, but if there were just two, they used objects attached to the last camel that made some noise with the movement, so, if they did not hear the noise it was because something was going wrong. If it was salt trade, they needed at least 4 strong men to charge properly the salt on camels, they had to do it at a once in each side of the camel. The guide of the caravan was called "Amenir", he knew very well the desert, the route, the places with water, its names... When they could not find water, they sent someone ahead to find it and guide the caravan. Sometimes, in dry regions they have to charge also food for the camels.
According to Mokhtar, there were four big camel markets, one in Guelmim, another in Mali, other in Bir Moghrein (?) and the fourth in Tania, near Tindouf, a place that was a crossroad for caravans.
About the situation nowadays concerning caravans, Mokhtar told us they cannot cross the Algerian border now, it was not a problem in the past, nobody asked where did you come from or where did you heading to, you could go and settle wherever you wanted... Not any more.
There were caravans leaving from Tinghir (Errachidia, Morocco) and heading to Taoudenni and then to Timbuktu (Mali). Later they continued to Mauritania to buy clothes and fabrics because the best were there. Each caravan must have a guide, it is very important. The Sahrawi people are the ones who lead the caravans. They know the desert, the changes, the sand, the territory... They know where they can settle down, where they can make a fire to cook. The others guide, they do not really know where they must pass, just the Sahrawi people know the region, they can walk by night using the stars as references, even when the sky is cloudy...
During Beyond Qafila Thania we had the opportunity to talk to several nomads who explained us how nomad life is today. The first one was Mohamed, one of the nomad that came with us.
The first village we arrived after 8 days walking was Mrmima. In the nearby, we met Mouloud and his family to whom we talked after the breakfast.
