Page 112 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW - ISSUE 13

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 1 1 2

In recent years, hunting with rifles has increased sharply, while the number of mouflon has
decreased significantly. In both the Tassili and the Ahaggar, hunters set up shelters from
which they look out for animals moving into the valleys to graze. Among some tribes, such as
the Dag Rali in the Ahaggar, this hunting has increasingly replaced hunting with

sighthounds, so that hunters with spears and trained dogs are now extremely rare. The most
famous mouflon hunter of the Ahaggar Koudia at present is a Negro called Sellaou, Akli of
Ouksem ag Chikat, the Targui brought to France by Father de Foucauld, who hunts with the
rifle given to Ouksem by his father.

Today, the great happiness of a Tuareg is to own a rifle.

In the winter of 1949-1950, the Tuareg had a shortage of food, which led them to hunt a lot.
An estimated 200 mouflons were killed with guns and brought to Tamanrasset for sale.

Fortunately, firearms are still far from common, although many Italian rifles have been
brought into circulation in recent years.

The mouflon is a valuable resource for the Tuareg. Its meat, fresh or dried, is an important

addition to their diet, and in years of high game numbers they export considerable
quantities of it to the Tidikelt. The skin is highly sought after. It is very tough and is popular
for making tent tarpaulins and special saddle bags for transporting flour. The hair on the
neck and legs is processed by the women into very good ropes, which are mainly used for

horse harnesses. The horns themselves are used as butter containers or cases in which tools
such as punches and knives for working the skins are kept.

I do not want to end this chapter on the mouflon without mentioning that there are memory

signs among the Tuareg that refer to hunting. One evening, when I was in camp with
several hunters, one of them drew the following pattern on the ground.

Fig. 19, Lhote, in La Chasse p.109