Origin: Tuareg (near Timbuktu, Mali)

Local name: tabarekkat (in Tamashek)

Dating: mid 20th century

Dimensions: length 31.5 cm, bowl height 9.8 cm, diam. 16.3 cm

Materials: wood, leather

Techniques: woodcarving

Acquired by: Adam Rybiński, Tuareg camp near Timbuktu (Mali), 2008.

Description:

The basis of Tuareg alimentation was milk, millet and dates. The former "was used as a drink or was part of flour dishes, in which it was a kind of sauce. It was also the basis of the often-consumed milk soup, which also included millet flour, cheese, powdered dates and pepper.” To this day, milk remains "a favorite food of the Tuaregs, giving, as they say, strength and health. A Tuareg proverb says: "Water is the soul, milk allows us to live" [Rybiński 1999: 104]. When the Tuaregs of Ahaggar say that they have "lost the taste of milk", it doesn’t mean that they not have drank milk for a long time, but that they have completely lost the will to live [Gast 1968: 139].

Tuareg ladles were made of shaped in an appropriate way calabash (bottle gourds) or wood, the latter being more durable and thus lasted longer. Depending on the region, they had a different shapes, they were all covered with an ornament, some had a leather thong on the handle. Wooden products (including spoons and ladles) were made by blacksmiths, which is why pyroplastic techniques were often used for decoration.

The presented ladle is made of one piece of brown wood, with a deep, semi-circular bowl and a handle bent down at the end. A thin strip of dark brown leather is attached to the handle. Good condition, visible traces of use in the form of wood chips or greasing. No visible conservation measures. The bend of the handle allowed the ladle to be placed horizontally and maintain its stability, thus it could also be used as a small bowl. This characteristic element proves its uniqueness. The literature and museum collections are dominated by ladles with straight handles, slightly bent upwards [Gabus 1958: 266-267, Nicolaisen 1963: 252]. With this type of the handle and the conical bowl (scoop) it’s not possible to placed the ladle horizontally so it only could be used to scoop up liquids. The presented object could serve as both a ladle and a small bowl.

Bibliography:

Gabus Jean, 1958, Au Sahara. Arts et symboles, Neuchâtel: A la Baconnière.

Gast Marceau, 1968, Allimentation des population de l’Ahaggar. Étude ethnographique, Paris.

Nicolaisen Johannes, 1963, Ecology and Culture of the Pastoral Tuareg with Particular Reference to the Tuareg of Ahaggar and Ayr, Copenhagen: The National Museum of Copenhagen.

Rybiński Adam, 1999, Tuaregowie z Sahary, Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Akademickie Dialog.

Rybiński Adam, information provided during the interviews (2020-2022).

  Edited by Lucjan Buchalik

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The purchase is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport as part of the National Institute of Museums and Collections' own program "Expansion of museum collections".