Page 101 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW - ISSUE 13

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Hunting the antelope with dogs
(rock drawing Libyan-Berber period, Oued Aguennar, Ahaggar)

All the dogs have proper names: Tarchit, Taoussit, Reylane, Tiji, Aréli, etc. and the best
hunters are known to all and their owners do not part with them at any price. They are
provided with amulets or even pendants made of gazelle testicles. The Tengueriguifs hang

the hooves of the gazelles they have caught in the race around their necks. The Tuareg
hunting Slougui has a narrow head, an elongated muzzle and medium-sized, pendulous
ears. The body is long, narrowed at the waist like sighthounds, but less finely boned than the
true Arabian Slouguis. The legs are thin and elongated, the tail is long, thin and spirally

twisted. It is the type depicted in the hunting scenes of the monuments of ancient Egypt,
where it is known to have been domesticated 3,500 years before the Christian era. The
Egyptians used the dogs as much for hunting with hounds against predators, antelopes and
ostriches as they did as hunting assistants to track down wounded game. On the tomb of

Phtahhoptu, two packs of dogs can be seen, one of which belongs to the Slougui species and
with its slender bellies is reminiscent of the dogs on the rock paintings in the Central
Sahara. The origin of the Tuareg hunting dog is probably to be sought in Egypt.

All Tuareg hunt with the hound; according to Cortier (1908, p. 363), however, the Iforas
would not do so because of the mediocrity of their animals. When they go into the field, the
dogs are led on a leash. The leash is sometimes a simple rope, but sometimes it is a luxurious
double lasso made of mouflon hair. The dogs are only let loose at the time chosen by the

hunters and return to their owner when called, if they are well trained. The hunters
personally own one, two or three hunting dogs, rarely more; however, as they join forces
with people from the same settlement for larger hunts, people and animals know each other
and are used to working together.