Just wanted to share this fine description of the Tuareg people in CIVILIZATIONS by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto:
'The most committed nomads in the world are the Tuareg. They are arch-resisters, defined by their indomitability. They conform to nature and are unbiddable by man. Their culture is shot through with zealously guarded peculiarities which set them apart from their neighbours: the men go heavily veiled; the copious use of the cross as a badge and a symbol; the unique status they give their womenfolk, who go unveiled, socialise freely, choose marriage partners, initiate divorce, own and bequeath their own property and transmit rights and status in the female line.'
It's the best shorthand description I've come across in all my reading, and I certainly couldn't say it better myself so am posting it up here for easy future reference.
