#Tuareg cross

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Jeff's Tuareg Cross

For sale on Etsy

The Meaning

Any question about their symbolism put to the users generally elicits only vague answers. Some attribute to it a function of "grigri" or “reserve of wealth". The ethnologists Germaine Dieterlen and Ziedonis Ligers spotted a situation where the father gave the jewel to his son in age of virility, marriage and nomadism, saying to him: "My son, I give you the four directions of the world, because we do not know where you will go to die".[6]

According to one Tuareg elder narration, a young nomadic warrior wanted to declare his love to the young girl of his heart, the latter being locked up at home and therefore inaccessible to his messages. The village blacksmith then had a very important place in Tuareg society. As such, the blacksmith had the right to enter the houses of all the families with whom he traded with. The young man then had a jewel forged which combines the two syllables of the Tamashek word " T (a) R (a)" ("tara" meaning " love" and spelled "ⵜⵔ" in the Tifinagh alphabet.) and entrusted the blacksmith with the mission of transmitting the message of love to his beloved in the greatest discretion.[7]

[ciaomilhouse]

Does anyone know what this cross means? Maybe it s just decorative

[baudouinette]

New iPad for my bday! 🥰

This is the first time I’ve gotten a nicely colored piece of tech lol

it’s so great that all my projects were transferred, like this one (a drawing that started as a simple Andalusi dress design but turned into character concept art 🥰💙). Because I literally could not continue anything, the app kept crashing and I was scared they would get corrupted.

[somethingstrangeisherehehe]

Yea, I love the way it turned out! Funny thing is, I originally rendered the Cassim art earlier than the Mozenrath art, but in a different style and colour palette, so after working on the Mozenrath art, I had to redo Cassim's rendering from scratch.

By the way, he has Berber symbols on his hands, one of them means a free man. The symbols from the four corners are tanaghilt, Tuareg crosses.

All that's left is to draw Aladdin, and I feel like that's going to be the hardest part.

Also, here's an early version of the render that had to be abandoned. Does it even look better? I don't know...

[panlight]

For those who missed it this morning, we solved the mystery of what was on Benjamin's necklaces. We've long known about the ankh (an ancient Egyptian symbol meaning life or eternal life), but we've discovered the other pendant is an Agadez Cross, a type of Saharan Berber jewelry made especially by the Tuareg people of Niger. They vary in design but the above example is nearly a perfect match for Benjamin's.

[christinevioletart]

The Wise One Pen and ink on paper 29.7 x 42 cm

In my latest illustration, I explore the archetype of the wise old woman.

Folktale and myth origins

The wise old woman is a character that often appears in old fairy tales as a bestower of knowledge that will aid the hero in his journey. Alternatively, she can be a moral presence in the story that tests the hero through different challenges. The most well known examples of this archetype are Baba Yaga from Slavic folklore or the Crone aspect of Hecate, the Greek goddess of magic and witchcraft.

The water and moon symbolism

The old woman sits on a black vast ocean surrounded by galaxies denoting her timeless nature. She lives at the edge of consciousness, imparting her wisdom to the astral traveler - the dreamer.

From the Jungian point of view, she represents a spiritual function surfacing out of the subconscious. This function is the feminine instinctual nature of the psyche.

Both water and the Moon symbolize this instinctual, subconscious side of the Self. The Moon is also a storehouse of dreams, ancestry, and emotional ties from past lives that reflect themselves in our behaviors and patterns. This is where the old woman appears in initiatory dreams to signal to us that it is time to outgrow old stagnant structures, clean up our mental home, and revitalize our lives so that we welcome new energy in. The water here also represents this idea of purification of the Self.

The Serpent Symbol

The white serpent at her feet is another symbol of renewal and the life-death-rebirth cycle. The snake is a common symbol found in almost any culture. It’s interpreted either in its revelatory aspect - as a keeper of ancestral wisdom or as a symbol of death, darkness, and decay - the lowest point we reach before we begin a new cycle.

The significance of the old woman in dreams

The presence of an old woman in dreams can sometimes appear as a detached, cryptic or frightening presence to the dreamer. The more we suppress those negative aspects of ourselves or avoid facing destructive habits and patterns that keep us from growing, the more of a creepy old hag she appears to us.

The cross symbol

Lastly, i want to mention the North African Indigenous cultures that i used as reference when drawing her. The clothing and tattoos on her face and hands are inspired by the Amazigh, nomadic desert tribes living in Northwest Africa for more than 20,000 years. The symbol she holds in her hand is a Tuareg cross. Its main role is apotropaic, a talisman made of silver for protection against evil that is given to a person when they are traveling.

The wise old woman archetype embodies both light and darkness. She is that wild, healing side that we find in ourselves when we’re lost in darkness and suffering. She is always there waiting to impart her knowledge no matter how cruel it sounds because she can pierce through illusion. She is truth and discernment.

[professionalshapeshifter]

Tuareg Cross

[the-nosy-neighbor]

Tic-Tac_Toe (Part 1)

Throughout the website, we have found instances of Tic-Tac-Toe games, so I decided to write about it, to see if I couldn’t find some reasoning for the inclusion of this, beyond Julie’s love of games. 

(I have separated this into 4 posts because I write very long things that are bad for morale.)

Rules of Tic-Tac-Toe

It seems like this is something that everyone knows (though sometimes under a different name, like noughts and crosses or x's and o's).  We will look, though, in case it gives any clues.

Of course there is a wikihow.  Draw the board (9 spaces).  First player goes and can choose to be x’s or o’s (but it do believe there is a rule that x goes first).  The first recommended move is to take the center, as it gives more options in getting three in a row or diagonal (winning).  Second player goes. They go back and forth until someone wins or the board is full, which is a tie. 

Ancient Origins of Tic-Tac-Toe

Huh, the game dates back to Ancient Egypt, called “Three Men’s Morris” and consisting of each player having three pieces and trying to put them all on one line.  The board looks like this:

The Roman version was also played with three pebbles.  (Roman version is called “Three Pebbles at a Time”?).  https://www.coolmathgames.com/blog/tic-tac-toe-history-three-in-a-row-thru-the-ages  It is also found in Middle Eastern and American Indian culture.  From what I can tell, this version in ancient Rome was circular, with an unknown name, but we call it “Rota” the Latin world for “wheel.”  These gameboards can be found in the streets of Roman cities.  https://mythologycrafts.com/rota-a-game-of-roman-tic-tac-toe/

“Rota is a very fast and simple game and you can play it almost anywhere. Each player moved three pieces around on a circular board until they got three in a row. The reason that Rota is called Roman Tic-Tac-Toe is that it is played on a board that has nine spaces and the main objective is to get three pieces in a row. However,  these two games are different because Rota takes longer,  you can move the pieces from their original positions, and unlike Tic-Tac-Toe it cannot end in a tie."

According to the coolmathgames.com website, the most comparable thing about these games is a 3 x 3 board.

The American Indian version (Zuni or Pueblo) looks like this:

Other versions:

Tant Fant:  India

Nine holes:  England

Achi:  Ghana

Shisima:  Kenya

Dara/dili/doki/derrah:  West Africa

Wali:  Africa

Dama Tuareg:  North Africa

Tria/Tris/Grisia:  Italy

Each version in the top half is pretty recognizable as tic tac toe, but the second half are further away.

Just a note to include that humans attach a lot of importance to the numbers 3 and 9, but especially 3.  Humans can process around three things in our short term, it has become a waypoint in writing or speaking (example:  x, 1,2,3 essays), and in symbols.  Symbols relying on the rule of three:  heaven, earth, hell; the father, the son, the holy spirit; birth, life, death; youth, middle age, old age; mind, body, soul.  Because of this human tendency, lots of things have been categorized by threes, but importantly, it has achieve a mystical significance in magic and luck.  In the European tradition, three is used in casting spells (bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble).  Also, how many times have we seen three witches as a storytelling device or focus?  In numerology, 3 has an association with Jupiter.

The History of Tic-Tac-Toe after 1884

The first instance of the name “noughts and crosses” is from 1858, “tic tac toe” is seen in 1884.  Tic Tac Toe is a game used to test artificial intelligence.  From Wikipedia “Arcade games with tic-tac-toe playing chickens were popular in the mid-1970’s. Apparently this comes from an appeal for a mentally ill murderer in which they introduced chickens playing tic-tac-toe as evidence that it doesn’t prove someone is mentally sound." From r/todayilearned, “TIL that in the 1960s there were coin operated machines with live chickens that would play piano, ring a bell or play you in tic tac toe when you dropped in a dime.“

This would have been during the time of the show, but what it could mean is curious (I wonder if Mama Beagle plays tic-tac-toe.)  I thought they meant a graphic of a chicken playing this game, but they really mean live chicken:

There were several game shows that used the game as their format, notably “Hollywood Squares,” “Tic-Tac-Dough,” Secret X from “The Price is Right,” and “Minute to Win It.”

There is a connection between Muppets and Hollywood Squares.  It seems that Kermit, Big Bird, Elmo, Piggy, and Zoe have all been on Hollywood Squares.  Also, Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House.  I love Bear. 

There is a cipher related to Tic-Tac-Toe.  There is a letter associated with the placement of the symbols.  They use the grid to denote the position of the letter. 

[victoryriders969789blog]

Urgent help is needed for my family🚨

✅ Verified campaign – please check the end of the story 🔍📌

Hello dears! I am Alaa and thank you for looking at us with compassion and I ask you to support my campaign to help me achieve my goal. I am in a dire need of your support now to help my family survive and be safe. Gaza is a very dangerous place to live in. I need your financial support to enable me to get the basic needs for my family until the Rafah crossing is reopened to transport my family to safety and peace. Please help my family survive through your small donations and sharing with others. Thank you so much for standing by those who in need😭🇵🇸

https://gofund.me/12523597

Vetted by @Gaza-evacuation-funds, my number verified on the list ( #4 ) and posted on my profile.

What about the people of Syria, Yemen, Lebannon OR WHAT ABOUT THE WOMANS BEING PERSECUTED IN IRAN?? WHAT ABOUT UKRAINE?? WHAT ABOUT TAIWAN THAT IS BEING PERSECUTED BY XI JINPING AND THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY??!! WHAT ABOUT HAITI AND THE CANNIBAL BARBEQUE???!! WHAT ABOUT VENEZUELA AND THE DICTATOR MADURO??!! WHAT ABOUT THE CUBAN PEOPLE BEING SLAUGHTERED BY DIAZ CANEL AND THE COMMUNISM??!! WHAT ABOUT THE BELARRUSIANS BEING VICTIMIZED BY LUKASHENKO??!! WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF LYBIA?? WHAT ABOUT THE TUAREG IN MALI?!! WHAT ABOUT THE CHRISTIANS BEING SLAUGHTERED AND PERSECUTED IN ALL AFRICA??!! WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF SUDAN?? WHAT ABOUT ROJAVA AND THE KURDS IN SYRIA?!! WHAT ABOUT NORTH KOREA THREATING JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND NOW INVADING UKRAINE ALONG WITH RUSSIA??!!

WHEN WOULD YOU TALK ABOUT ALL THAT STUFF??! OR MAYBE JUST YOUR COUNTRY HAS WAR, FAMINE, A DICTATORSHIP OR AN INVATION TO DEAL WITH?? JUST THE PEOPLE AND SOULS OF GAZA NEEDS ATTENTION?? SYRIA HAS BEEN IN A CIVIL WAR, BEEN THROUGH A DICTATORSHIP OF THE TYRANT BASHAR AL ASSAD AND EVEN THE SYRIAN PEOPLE HAS TO DEAL AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE!!! WHEN YOU WILL HELP THEM?! AND I ONLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOUR ONLY SUFFERING!!?? YOU ARE JUST LIKE ISRAEL!!! BOTH ISRAEL AND PALESTINE LOSTED THE GRACE OF GOD CAUSE YOU BOTH FORGET ABOUT JESUS!! JESUS SACRIFICE HERSELF!!! WOULD THE JEWS OR THE PALESTINIANS SACRIFICE THEMSELVES TO SAVE SYRIA OR THE WOMANS OF IRAN JUST LIKE JESUS CHRIST SACRIFICE HIMSELF ON THE CROSS???!!

ANSWER ME THAT!!

😡😠

[reckonslepoisson]

Afelan (2013), Sousoume Tamachek (2017), Ilana (The Creator) (2019), Afrique Victime (2021), Funeral For Justice (2024), Mdou Moctar

The legend goes that word of Mdou Moctar spread across the Sahara phone-to-phone, battered old mobiles transmitting via Bluetooth (or otherwise) the Tuareg guitarist charms in a sort of digital cross-continental wind. And on early records it is understandable how Moctar’s talent would shine through even the brickiest Nokia or Sony Ericsson. His guitar skills, even with a stripped back, folkier sound, are audible and undeniable.

These days (since Ilana, really) Mdou Moctar is a psych outfit, a desert-borne, Mad Max-style machine beaming out spangly, entrancing, mesmerising, pointedly political rock music off into the horizon. The guitarist’s music winds and overlaps and, more than anything, crunches – all while never losing its uproarious elements. There has arguably been no better psych record this decade than this year’s Funeral For Justice; until, that is, the next Mdou Moctar record.

Pick(s): ‘Chet Boghassa’, ‘Tanzaka’, ‘Tarhatazed’, ‘Afrique Victime’, ‘Oh France’

[scotianostra]

The explorer Alexander Gordon Laing was murdered on September 26th 1826 in Edinburgh.

While some Scottish explorers' exploits are engraved on the national psyche, such as David Livingstone and Mungo Park, others like Alexander Gordon Laing have long since slipped into near obscurity. Yet he achieved that most coveted of prizes, Laing managed from here to Timbuktu located in the West African nation of Mali on the southern edge of Sahara Desert.

Gordon Laing, as he became known,was the son of school professor William Laing who initially educated his son personally. Alexander joined the military and rose through ranks, being part of York Light Infantry Volunteers since 1811, 2nd West India Regiment since 1815 and Royal African Colonial Corps since 1822 seeing much of Africa while in the army.

As well as the military campaigns Laing had an interest in geography, managing to find and map the source of river Rokel and relatively precisely ascertain the source of river Niger. In 1825 he managed to secure the permission for finding the source of river Niger and finding the route to the city of Timbuktu. His journey came with the blessing of the Famous explorers Joseph Banks, and Henry, 3rd Earl Bathurst who then commanded colonies in Africa.

Laing was instructed to explore the hydrography of the Niger basin. His journey began on 16 July 1825, two days after he married Emma Warrington, daughter of the British consul in Tripoli. He travelled across the Sahara, reached the settlements of Ghadames and In Salah. During the last leg of the journey across desert of Tanezrouft his party became attacked by the group of Tuareg raiders, during which he wrote that he received over 20 wounds. In the end, he managed to reach city of Timbuktu on August 18 1826, barely alive and with only one hand. He thus became the first European to cross the Sahara from north to south. Laing wrote another letter on 21st September, which eventually reached Tripoli. This reported his position in the city as being very difficult, and noted his intention to leave three days later. It was later established that he had done so, and that he was murdered in the desert on the night of 26th September 1826.

The pics are of Laing, and the house he stayed at in Timbuktu, now a tourist spot.

[womenandherstory]

THE QUEEN TIN HINAN!

(Painting of The Queen Tin Hinan by Hocine Ziani)

The Queen Tin Hinan, also known as Queen of the Hoggar, is a legendary woman that lived in the 4th Century whose skeleton was found in a pre-Islamic tomb in the Ahaggar Mountains. The literal meaning of Tin Hinan is “she of the tents.” She is believed to be the ancestress of the Tuareg ethnicity of northern Africa; they call her “The mother of us all.”

As centuries went by, her character gradually faded into myth and folklore until the discovery and opening of her tomb in 1925. the discovery reaffirmed her existence. Like many centuries old legendary characters, her true origin has become shrouded in mystery. Sadly without any real documented evidence because the Tuaregs of that time did not keep written records, oral narratives by the locals is a key option in retracing her history.

There are sources that say Tin Hanin was a princess driven from the Northern Sahara, and after a near-death journey through the Sahara Desert with her entourage, they reached the desert anthill where luckily they found grain.

Some say she was a Berber moslem who came from the Tafilalt oasis. with her maidservant Takamat. that she might have had a daughter called Kella. they settled in the mountainous region of Algeria. There is no record anywhere of her tribe, whom her husband or lover was, why she migrated to Hoggar, whom her parents were or the cause of her death.

Takamat had two daughters. Historians believe Tin Hinan gave the Oasis of Silet and Ennided to the two daughters of Takamat which til present day belongs to the descendants of the two women.

LEGEND

Tin Hinan accomplishments were no mean feat. As a woman coming from a foreign land she had to establish herself in the new territory and judging from history’s treatment of women during those times one can only imagine her level of wisdom, Intelligence, courage and endurance as she overcame opposition, won the hearts of the people, united them and rose to become their queen.

She was regarded as a fearless warrior; many Tuaregs today refer to her as the African Amazon Queen. She possessed a knowledge of herbs for healing and medicinal practices, taught her people poetry and the Tifinagh alphabet. Her greatest achievement was founding, uniting the Tuaregs and establishing a kingdom in the Hoggar. Her daughter Kella is widely judged to be the founder of the Kel Rela Tribe.

Under the leadership of Queen Tin Hinan, the Tuaregs established essential caravan trading routes through which they built great wealth and economic prosperity throughout the 4th and 5th century.

TIN HINAN TOMB

It was not until 1925 that Tin Hanin resurfaced again. A Polish American archaeologist Byron Khun De Porok unpopular within the science community at the time and dubbed “The Tomb Raider” discovered her tomb at the Hoggar regions of Abalessa in Southern Algeria.

 It was a Circular stone structure on a hill with a height of about 4 meters and a diameter of about 23 meters overlooking a dried river bed. It contained a number of rooms but only had one entrance.

Upon opening her tomb, Byron found the remains of the queen lying on her back legs crossed and covered with a red cloak of leather that had since turned to dust; she lay on a wooden litter her head facing east and was heavily adorned with gold and jewels. She wore seven silver and seven gold bracelets on her left and right arms respectively and a necklace of gold and pearls. A separate silver bracelet and a Gold ring were placed beside the body. Other funerary items and many pieces of jewelry like beads of turquoise, garnet, amazonite, and cornelian were also discovered in the tomb.

In the 1960s, the anthropologist E. Leblanc examined the skeleton within the Tin Hinan tomb. He observed that the remains were tall (1.72 to 1.76 meters tall) and lithe, with a narrow pelvis, broad shoulders and slender legs.

Today her remains can be found in the Bardo Museum of Algiers.

[panafrocore]

Telek Dagger of the Tuareg Nomads of the Sahel Desert

The Telek dagger holds a significant place in the rich and intricate cultural tapestry of the Tuareg nomads of the Sahel desert. With a straight, long blade and a solid copper pommel in the shape of a cross, this traditional weapon embodies both practical functionality and profound symbolism. Despite the predominantly Muslim faith of the Tuareg people, the retention of the cross-shaped grip on…

[julierysava]

Sci Fi Saga 2

In the distant future, where technology and mystery intertwined seamlessly, a lone agent named Tuaren found himself on the brink of a mission which would challenge both his skills and his beliefs. In a world where new dimensions and alternate realities were not just the stuff of science fiction, but a reality, he was tasked with a mission holding the promise of unparalleled riches and wealth rise, but also carried the weight of uncertainty.

The mission dossier lay on the table, illuminated by the soft hum of holographic lights. Tuaren's gaze was unwavering as he studied the contents of the file. He was to identify a heavily guarded door, a portal of sorts leading to another realm, an enigmatic place which had been sealed shut for years. Due luck of the choosens, hardly ever anyone accomplished all the tasks needed for such door to be open.

The door was unlike anything he had encountered before, adorned with complex patterns seemed to shift and dance as if alive. It was protected by an intricate alarm system, even the most skilled doers had failed to breach. But Tuareg was no ordinary agent – he was chosen for his exceptional abilities and sharp intellect, to identify the door, and to report to authorities if it still guarded.

As he stood before the door, his heart racing with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation, he spotted her. She was standing there, right in front of the door, her presence almost ethereal. A robot awaiting for next chosen to be taken through.

Without a word, she motioned for him to approach. The alarm system, though still active, seemed to falter in her presence, as if recognizing her authority. Tuaren cautiously stepped forward, his senses on high alert. As he reached the door, he felt a strange energy emanating from it, like a current of possibilities tingling at his fingertips.

"The door to the realm," she began, her voice carrying a mixture of caution and longing. "It opens only for those who are chosen. Those who pass through it are rewarded beyond measure – wealth, knowledge, and a place of honor beyond imagination. But once you enter, there is no returning to your old life. The path ahead is unknown, and the journey irreversible."

Tuaren looked at her, his mind swirling with questions. Why was he chosen for this mission? What lay beyond the door? Was the promise of riches worth the uncertainty of the unknown? As he pondered these thoughts, he felt a resonance within himself, a curiosity burned brighter than his apprehension.

With a determined nod, he turned back to the door. It responded to his proximity, its patterns rearranging themselves as if in acknowledgment. He took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest, and reached out to the door's surface.

The door opened, its motion accompanied by a soft, melodious hum which seemed to echo through time and space. As Tuaren stepped through, the world around him transformed. Colors shifted, shapes morphed, and he found himself in a realm unlike any he had ever imagined. The air was charged with an energy pulsing through his veins, and he realized he had embarked on a journey which would forever alter the course of his destiny.

In the distance, he saw figures who had left his old path, their faces illuminated by a radiant glow were vanishing, evaporating into the mist. They welcomed him with smiles to hold the wisdom of those who had embraced the unknown and reaped its rewards. As the door closed behind him, Tuaren felt a mix of exhilaration and apprehension, for he had crossed a threshold into a future to be held both challenges and wonders beyond imagination.

And so, in a sci-fi future where realms awaited to be explored, and the choices made could reshape lives, Tuaren embarked on a journey of discovery, his heart filled with the promise of a destiny was uniquely his own.

[mineofophir]

Traditional Jewelry

Buy traditional jewelry and traditional jewelry sets in different designs at Mount Meru Holistic. We provide latest trending designs jewelry at unbelievable prices. Tuareg Agadez cross, charm necklace, hand-made necklace, silver/nickel mix with black onyx beads. For more details email: mountmeruholistic@gmail.com

[panlight]

Wait, guys, no, I think I found it! I was close. Saw this pop up IN AN AD after my googling of the Coptic crosses. So, uh, thanks creepy targeted ads?

The Agadez Cross (also Agadès Cross, Cross of Niger, French: Croix d’Agadez) is the most popular category of Saharan Berber jewelry made especially by the Tuareg people of Niger. Only a few of these pieces of jewelry exactly resemble a cross. For most of them, it is a pendant with a varied silhouette, related either to a cross (tanaghilt), or to a form of plate or shield (talhakim). 

After all these years I still wanna know what Benjamin's necklace was, like one of them is the ankh symbol but can find the other so random ik

Yeah I wish we could get a clear look at it, but the ankh tends to obscure the top part of the pendant:

Ancient Egypt is one of my life-long fascinations (in fact I wear an ankh necklace almost exactly like this and have done for years and years) and I can't figure out what that other symbol is. I don't think it's ancient Egyptian, and of course it doesn't have to be because Benjamin himself is not from ancient times. He's from the 1800s.

My best guess is that it's a stylized Coptic cross but that's still not a very good fit. Here are some examples of Ethiopian Coptic cross pendants which are the closest things I've found so far:

But as you can see, it's still not really the right shape.

It could be literally some random thing.