Ässhäk - Geschichten aus der Sahara

ASSHAK, tales from the Sahara

T he droughts of the past two years have driven many nomads...

...from their campsites.

Especially the women suffered.

Beneath the scorching sun they had to walk the donkeys to distant wells.

T hat's what droughts are like!

Our concern is the ground-water level.

Assalamu Aleykum! -Aleykum assalam!

How is it going? -lt is going well!

How is it going?

Everything is going well!

How is it going with you? -Everything is going well!

Are you doing alright? -We are doing fine!

ls nobody sick? -Everyone is healthy!

l am looking for my runaway camel. l have already searched far but found it nowhere.

So l've come to seek information.

A runaway camel is like the wind.

You must ask around everywhere and make sure that it does not seek out other wells.

For instance, it will wander to the south of Algeria...

...because there are many camels there.

Camels do not recognize national borders.

T hey just follow each other and make their friends.

l will let my camel drink now.

And thus l will continue my search!

We will inquire everywhere for you!

l have been telling tall stories since childhood.

P eople come to me and listen.

Some memorize my stories...

...others make fun of them...

...but everyone enjoys them.

T hus l constantly make up new stories, which then become the truth.

ln this way, my name has become famous.

God has my soul.

We call you! God our Lord.

Him, who owns,

Him, who kills.

l pretend to be clever, like a half-caste...

...rejected by those closest to him...

...who is even cast out of a mosque...

...because he dyes his skin with henna, like a bridegroom in love.

T he lady of my heart wears indigo and pe rf ume.

Her braids are artfully plaited with butter.

Children, you must sing T endabi!

Children, call out T endabi!

Never stop singing this song...

...a new song from Aïr...

...that even a crazy person sings.

A child as it tends the goats sings it...

...a slave on his way to the well sings it...

...as does an old man, who's lost his memory.

And thus especially a handsome man in fine garments...

...the one riding the hued camel.

Listen to the lmzâd-fiddle being played with a smooth bow...

...underneath a solidly constructed tent!

Ah, the beauty of women!

T hat's it, beautiful women with their pe rf ume.

lt is not easy to build the traditional turban.

Maybe the turban will not succeed.

T hen they ought not to film!

lf it doesn't succeed, l will make a new one.

T he camels are over there beneath the trees.

Assalamu Aleykum! -Aleykum assalam!

How is it going? -lt is going well!

And the family?

Everything in order, they are doing fine.

ls nobody sick? -No, everyone is fine!

And the journey? -lt is going well!

Where are you heading? - T he market in Arlit...

...my sons and l are going to Arlit.

Arlit, that is still far away! -Yes, it is still far.

And where have you come from?

From the west. l am looking for my camel. l have been searching for a long time.

Have you not found any clues?

No, l have heard nothing.

l only heard of one camel that appears to resemble it.

Join us for a while, maybe we will find a sign.

Yes, alright.

When it rains, everything here will turn green.

T hat's right, the landscape changes after the rain.

Look, even the trees will turn green!

Everything appears different then.

What seems so far apart now, appears to move closer together after the rain.

P eople who have travelled far must rest well.

Something in my heart...

Something in my heart...

lt is the love of singing!

lt is the joy of singing!

T he names of the beautiful camels and their riders,

the names of the beautiful camels in the desert,

l wish to recite them all!

When it is cool, you need not drink so much.

T hat's the way it is.

You are less thirsty then.

And you don't have to bring so much water when travelling.

ls it on the way to Bilma...

...where the Kel Essuf, the ghosts of loneliness, scare people so.

l don't know.

T here are people who meet them and tell of it.

But l have never seen them myself.

l do not know what shape they have or when they tend to appear.

T he T uareg women take care of everything. T hey are the true masters of the tents.

T he men think that only the caravans mean real work...

...but at some point that work is accomplished...

...whereas the women's work never ends at all.

T hey must move their tents almost every month.

T he older children here are the sons of my older daughters.

T he younger ones grow up with me...

...because they have lost one or both of their parents...

...the father - or even the mother - is no longer alive.

Brahim lost his mother at birth.

l raised him on camel-mare's milk...

...until he was strong enough.

What's keeping the children?

Maybe they are at the neighbours'.

Children are like that.

T hey have to feed the little goats...

...they cannot stay without fodder.

T he larger goats have also strayed far, the jackal might get them.

T he jackal is around everywhere.

How often he eats them!

We must call the children...

...so that they will fetch the goats.

T hey will pass us on their way home. lf they don't pass by on the other side.

Maybe they're with the little camels?

l wish l had a mother and a father to myself.

T hat is what l wish for.

l love my little brother above everything else.

And l love my goat.

With us, a woman accepts her life the way it is.

She stays with her children and her animals...

...and accepts her simple life.

lt appears like she has no worries other than looking after her goats and donkeys.

Her agreement with God is what gives a woman her strength.

She takes on her duties...

...and relies only on herself.

A husband is like the shadow of a tree in the morning...

...that disappears and leaves you behind underneath the scorching sun.

You are together and the next day he is no longer there.

Whatever you may have been through together, one day he will go...

...and leave you behind, without thinking anything of it.

Such men are no good!

Do you know this?

N

Do you know this?

GH

Do you know this?

L

Wait, l will clear away the goat-droppings.

Do you know this?

You don't know this?

Not so many dashes at once!

T amaset!

No! T hat's a J!

S K D A - T ripod!

Asshak , the deep respect for the rules of conduct...

...exists with women just as it does with men.

T he women's Asshak is sometimes stronger than the men's.

lt is highly valued by all of the T uareg people.

lt is considered good when everyone possesses this quality.

Asshak means: to follow principles of politeness...

...and the rules of good behaviour, as is the will of God.

Asshak and the fear of God - they are the same thing.

lt means: to respect all living creatures.

lt was Asshak that created the lmzâd, the single-string fiddle.

lt is also the origin of the men's mouth-covering veil.

But even though the women do not wear turbans...

...they carry the Asshak in their hearts .

We didn't cover the henna properly.

Maybe it'll work anyway.

Not a good position for applying make-up!

Doesn't it hurt? -No, it's alright.

'' T he T ruth and the Lie''.

Once the was the lie that caused people to quarrel.

T he conflict was so great, that they would break each other's arms.

All because of the lie.

l wish for the lie to be captured,

...to be tied up, thrown into hole - two metres deep...

...covered with sand, beaten with a stick and shut up entirely.

So it will leave people in peace.

l took my saddle and began my search for Tidet , the truth.

T here, where she was moving behind acacia-branches...

We were able to capture her and turned her into a woman.

We prepared a great store of millet for her, a bed of gold...

...beautiful indigo sheets, a sturdy house and a finely embroidered cushion.

T hus the poet took the truth for his wife.

l often encounter such animals here, within the mosque.

T hat is because this is a place where the Marabouts read the holy scriptures.

T he appearance of the hare is a good omen.

We may not disturb it.

My daughter has given birth underneath this tent.

Seven days ago, she delivered a boy.

T he baptism takes place tonight. According to custom, the mother will not take part.

lt was a very difficult birth...

...we were in great fear for her.

But she gave birth, she is alive and so is the boy.

T hanks be to God!

We feared for her life and sent someone to her father...

...the Marabout, who made her a healing drink of Koran texts.

T hen we walked sacrificial circles around her.

We thank God that she is feeling better, and that this child exists.