1960'-1970'. Silver on copper sheet gr. 59,3 (2.09 oz.); cm. 8,0 high x cm. 8,0 width (3.15
In the Tuareg language (Tamahaq), the
literal sense of the word “Tcherot” means “letter”, “message” or “paper on
which something is written”. The word Tcherot is used in Niger, while these
talismans are called “Taraout” in Algeria, “Takardé” in Mali and “Kitab” in
Mauritania.
The Tcherot often has the form of a
metal or leather box, lozenge-shaped or rectangle or square. The Techerot often
has a sheet of paper, closed and sealed, on which is written in Arabic, one or
more verses of the Quran selected by an Imam or a Marabout, at the request of a
person who wants to be protected from the evil eye, curses, hatred, diseases or
also to receive favors or luck.
In other cases the Tcherot can hold a
sheet of paper on which is written magic letters, numbers, names of days, names
of the stars and planet, or signs representing the eye, revealing the esoteric
practices well known by the Marabouts. Other times a Tcherot may contain desert
sand, small objects, or simply the “whiff” of the Marabout.
The Tuareg people inhabit a large area, covering almost all the middle and western Sahara and the north-central Sahel. They are probably descended from the ancient Libyan people of the kingdom of the Garamantes, described by Herodotus. Tuareg are mostly nomads. For over two millennia, they operated the trans-Saharan caravan trade connecting the great cities on the southern edge of the Sahara via five desert trade routes to the northern coast of Africa (Mediterranean).
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