Tales from the Plateau of Rivers

Deep in the Algerian section of the Sahara Desert, nestled in the southeastern* corner of the country, are the Tassili n'Ajjer and Ahaggar mountain ranges. The Tassili n'Ajjer range is familiar to the world as the largest open air museum with striking rock formations and prehistoric rock art for which it is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Ahaggar is home to Mount Tahat, the highest point in Algeria.

But to the Tuareg who have long called the desert home, the Tassili n'Ajjer (the “Plateau of Rivers”) and the Ahaggar mountains are something more.

In this episode of the Mythological Africans podcast, we learn the names the Tuareg people have given some peaks and sections of these mountain ranges, and through them explore the intricacies of the relationship between these extraordinary landscapes and the humans who know them best.

*In the episode, I say the “southwestern” part of the country. This is not quite right.

“Tassili n'Ajjer-Tamghit” by Issam Barhoumi

We ask the Tuareg people about this rock heritage, and we ask this rock heritage about the Tuareg people. — Dr. Ahmed Zegheb, Algerian Anthropologist and Folklorist

References

• Gautier, E. F. “The Monument of Tin Hinan in the Ahaggar.” Geographical Review, vol. 24, no. 3, 1934, pp. 439–43. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/208915.

• Hamida, Souad, and Kazhar Mesaadia. "Nature and Culture in the Land of the Tuareg: A Reading of a Section from Ahmed Zegheb’s Book." Aleph 11.7 (2024): 675-685.

Can’t Get Enough?

1. Enjoy these glorious pictures of the Tassili n’Ajjer!

(L - R): "La Cité de Séfar" by Oussama Hamdi; "Tassili Tadart" by فهد33; "The Tassili, Algeria" by Travel-Local; "The Tassili at Sunrise, Algeria" by Travel-Local; "Les Traces du Passé" by Bouslah Lotfi; "Tassili la Legende" by Synia Touzaline

2. Read more about Sefar City. The Eight Wonder of the World!

3. Listen to last week’s episode featuring the Tuareg and the Desert. Bonus links to past MA episodes about Tuareg mythology and folklore.

Meanwhile…

The Watkins Book of African Folklore (…or The Mythological Africans Book) is out!

The Watkins Book of African Folklore contains 50 stories, curated from North, South, East, West and Central Africa. The stories are grouped into three sections:

• Creation myths and foundation legends (including the foundation legend of the Tuareg!)

• Stories about human relationships and the cultural institutions they created

• Animal tales (with a twist…the folktales are about some of the most unlikely animals!)

I thoroughly enjoyed digging into the historical and cultural context out of which the stories, their themes, and protagonists emerge. There is something for everybody!