Tadjasst en Timussnawen tin essehet: documenting health and well-being knowledge to preserve it, the example of the tendé
Documenting Kel Tamasheq health and well-being knowledge through the tendé drum.
About the research
This community research project documents the traditional health knowledge of the Kel Tamasheq, with special attention to the tendé, a drum made from a wooden kitchen mortar holding a little water and covered with an animal skin.
Played at Kel Tamasheq celebrations and also used in healing ceremonies, the tendé plays a very important role for the well-being and health of the Kel Tamasheq. Through its composition, its role and the songs that accompany it, the tendé embodies the interconnection between generations and all living things in Kel Tamasheq territories.
Approach
This is participatory research, built on the co-construction of knowledge with Kel Tamasheq communities, led by Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine with the support of Ziniba Aghati, Leslie Cloud and Jacqueline Sow.
The research protocol was co-constructed with the investigators as well as with Kel Tamasheq leaders and knowledge holders.
Community co-authors
In total, 86 members of the Kel Tamasheq (Tuareg) communities took part in the study; they are co-authors of the publications that resulted from it.
Context and funding
This research was carried out by Association Tinhinan Canada (tinhinan.org) within the Ărramăt project: Biodiversity Conservation and the Health and Well-being of Indigenous Peoples.
We acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), NFRFT-2020-00188.
Publication
Wallet Aboubakrine, M., Cloud, L., & Sow, J. (2026). Le tendé des femmes des Kel Tamasheq. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23241908
