Where are the Tuareg people native to?

The Tuareg people inhabit an area in North and West Africa. Their political organizations extend across national boundaries. In the 2010s there were estimated to be more than two million Tuareg.

The Tuareg speak languages of the same name (also known as Tamasheq), which belong to the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family.

Tuareg society is traditionally feudal, ranging from nobles, through clergy, vassals, and artisans, to labourers (once slaves). The conventional Tuareg dwelling is a tent of red-dyed skin (sometimes replaced in the later 20th century with plastic).

The Tuaregs have been called the "blue people" for the indigo dye coloured clothes they traditionally wear and which stains their skin. A semi-nomadic people who practice Islam, they are believed to be descendants of the Berber natives of North Africa.

In Tuareg society women do not traditionally wear the veil, whereas men do. The most famous Tuareg symbol is the 'tagelmust', a combined turban and veil, often indigo-blue colored. The men's facial covering originates from the belief that such action wards off evil spirits. It may have related instrumentally from the need for protection from the harsh desert sands as well.