ETYMOLOGY OF THE TERM TUAREG
Tawariq / Tuareg / Touareg/Tuaregs
The term Tawariq originates from the Arabic language. It was first mentioned in the writings of Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) (Casajus 2000: 19). The terms Touareg and Tuareg are incorrect transcriptions from the Arabic term Tawariq into French (Hureiki 2003: 58).
Tawariq is the plural of Tariq (masc.sg.) and not of Targui. The term Targui (Targi) is an invention of French colonial writers (Hureiki 2003: 58). Hence Targuia (Targia) is not the female singular form, but Tariqat. Consequently, Tuareg/Touareg is already the plural and it is not necessary to add a “s” in order to build the plural. In the Sahara region the term Tuareg is used as a swear word and is comparable with the use of the word gypsy.
MEANING:
Tawariq – The ghosts of the night?
The Arabic term Tariq (Tawariq) has different meanings. According to Hureiki it could be translated as “ghosts of the night” or “morning star” (In detail see Hureiki 2003:60ff.).
Tawariq – abandoned by God?
The term was first mentioned in scripts in Timbuktu in the 16th century (Hureiki 2003: 65).
Tawariq has the linguistic root “t-r-q”. Mauritanian authors, declared enemies of the Imushar, started to spell the term Tawariq with the root “t-r-k” in the chronicles of Timbuktu during the 18th century. In doing so they traced the term back to the verb taraka (t-r-k), which means “to abandon”. Consequently, the interpretation of Tawariq meaning “abandoned by God” arose.
But not only Arab people walked right into the “orthographic trap” of the moors (Hureiki 2003: 66), but also European travelers like Duveyrier (1864: 317-318) and Barth (1965: 227-228), who visited the Arabic moors in Timbuktu.
Tawariq – The Abandoned?
According to the etymology of Banu Hilal, an Arabic conqueror of North Africa, the term Tuareg derives from the word Taraka (to abandon). The legend says that a hero called Dhiyab released a city from evil ghosts or a snake. As a reward he got 40 virgins, who he married to his followers. They abandoned the women and the fatherless children were called Tuareg (Klute 2013: 182 from Norris 1975).
Tuareg – Targa?
It is said, that the origin of the term stems from an area close to Ubari in Libya called Targa (Keenan 1977: 15; Sudlow 2001: 3)
But the question is, why the Tuareg society should be named after that region, when the people of the area were called Garamantes. There is no historical evidence that prove any connection between Targa and Tawariq.
The region is also called Targa (according to Foucauld). The term targa is translated as “irrigation canal” in the dictionary of Kabyle-Francais (Dallet 1982). Hence the term "Targa" (t-r-g) and "Tawariq/Tariq/Tuareg " (t-r-g) do not have the same root. An irrigation canal is also called Tagohamt in Tamahaq.
Furthermore, Arabic chroniclers reported on a society called “Tawariq” with the singular “Tariq” and not “Targa” ever since the Middle Ages.
The development of the Berber term Targa/Targa as the overall term for society into the Arabic term Tawariq (Tuareg) would be rather astonishing from a linguistic perspective.
Until now the only clear thing is that the transcription from the Arabic term Tawariq into T(o)uareg is a colonial fabrication.
The etymology of the term Tuareg is still not resolved and at the same time not really relevant, because members of the society called themselves Imuhar/Imuschar or Imascheren and not Tuareg.
Although the term Tuareg contains a certain “allure” among Europeans and Americans, the term is used as swear word in North and West Africa.
In contemporary Europe it is common to no longer call Roma and Sinti peoples Gypsies and the Inuit no longer Eskimos. Similarly, in the near future, the Imuhar/Imuschar/Imascheren are hopefully no longer called Tuareg.
Etymology of the term IMUHAR: