AFRICA: ONE CONTINENT. MANY WORLDS. | LESSON PLANS

A Camel by any other name...

Buying a camel is the best investment you could make if you were going to cross the Sahara. Camels can go for days - sometimes weeks - without eating or drinking. Unlike trucks, they have no hard-to-fix mechanical parts. They seldom break down. And they give milk to drink, meat to eat and their skins can be tanned into useful leather.

For centuries, the Tuareg people have relied on camels for their desert caravans. The Tuareg love their camels so much that they have special words to describe them. A single word may tell about a camel's color, age, behavior, sex or disposition.

For instance:

ajmilal (ACH-me-lal) means a camel with lots of small spots next to each other
azerraf (AZ-er-ravf) means a two-toned camel
arenennas (are-REN-nen-nas) means a camel that neighs with joy when it sees something it likes
emerregreg (EM-merr-reg-reg) means a camel that roars mournfully when separated from its master or grazing mate
arewaha (ARE-wa-cha) means a camel that makes a pitiful roar when it's loaded and unloaded
taletmot (tel-TMUT) means a very fine, fast-riding camel

In the United States, we also give our vehicles special names. Name five cars below, and describe what their names mean.

Example:
Ford Explorer

Explorer might mean a person who
goes out in search of new adventures.

http://www.nhm.org/africa