![]() An exhilarating train journey across the Sahara.Chinguetti: Mauritania's ancient Saharan city.The nomad guide who decodes the Sahara's secrets."Tuareg people used to wear leather clothes, and at some point, they switched to the blue fabrics they are mostly known for today." ![]() While the Haalpulaar might have established the indigo daraas, it was the Tuareg people who adopted and popularised the fashion, and are considered the "blue men of the Sahara" – a name they eventually got because the colour of their clothing rubbed off onto their skin while being under the hot sun.Īccording to Dr Anja Fischer, researcher of Saharan studies at the University of Vienna, the influence of the Haalpulaar could have led to big changes for Tuareg fashion. ![]() These dark blue-coloured daraas were perfect for people who couldn't afford white daraas, but who also didn't want to wear black ones. With the lack of natural colourful dyes around the Sahara, coloured daraas appeared only after the Haalpulaar started trading natural indigo dye and indigo-dyeing techniques became popular. Wealthy merchants wore chalk-white daraas and tagelmusts, as they could afford to clean their clothes every day, while enslaved people would typically wear black, as they often worked in unclean environments and had to wear the same clothing repeatedly. The first versions of the clothing are thought to have come from the Haalpulaar, who resided along the Senegal River between modern-day Senegal and Mauritania.Įventually, populations from all social statuses wore daraas, but colours depended on one's station in life. Like other tunic-style clothing such as the kimono from Japan or the kaftan originating in ancient Mesopotamia, the daraa has found a place in fashion history. Yet, in Mauritania, where most men wear the daraa and tagelmusts in captivating shades of blue, it's still alive – and it looks like it's here to stay for quite some time. Today, with more people settling in larger cities, and fashion styles trending towards those from the West, the attire the Saharan men once wore to traverse the hot desert has largely become a relic from the past. "The style and shape of our daraa not only allows the right airflow in these difficult environments, but also helps the Saharan men to conserve body water in the middle of the desert," said local Mauritanian guide Dahid Jdeidou (pictured). And while some locals will say the clothing symbolises a shyness and modesty of the people, most agree that its basic function is to protect against the sun, as well as the frequent sandstorms of the region. The garments' northern African origins can be traced back hundreds of years, as far as the 7th and 8th Centuries, to the early times of the trans-Saharan trade between Sub-Saharan and North Africa. ![]()
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