NEW Book Explores the Story of the Legendary Tuaregs and their Silver Jewelry
From the mysterious ancient Cross of Agadez to strikingly modern African jewels crafted by the Kel Tamasheq artisans of the Sahara

Burbank, CA – ( June 6  2006) – Jewelry has been a manmade craft that has been evolving through the ages.  Since ancient times up to modern wear, precious metal decorative objects have not only become body adornments and clothing accents but icons of cultural development, economic attainment, and lifestyle.  Anthropologist Helene E. Hagan announces the release of her new book Tuareg Jewelry, a beautiful picture book that showcases the intricate jewelry of the Tuareg people in northern Niger, Africa.

While the Tuareg groups of northern Niger originally led a nomadic subsistence in the difficult arid conditions of the Sahara desert for centuries, they developed a remarkably complex society.  Their rich culture is reflected in the elaborate silver jewelry that is prominently found in Northern Niger and even Mali. Through her book, Tuareg Jewelry, author Helene Hagan unfolds the captivating story of the origins and development of the beautifully crafted jewels of the Tuareg men and women.  With the assistance of Lucile Myers, a British born Australian student in Tuareg culture, and the precious participation of Berber and Tuareg art scholars, Lhabib Fouad of Morocco and Mohamed Ewanghaye of Niger, Helene Hagan presents a superb glimpse into one area of the artistic production of the Amazigh people and culture of Africa.

Showcasing the striking details of the masculine jewelry and feminine adornment of the Tuaregs, seeing how the jewelry serves as markers along the steps of evolving relations and common traditions for generations of Tuaregs, and understanding the core values that permeate this very distinctive African group and their lifestyle in the Sahara Desert—all of this and more make Hagan’s Tuareg Jewelry a prize collection for any library of anyone interested in the culture and history of Africa.  Check out this book today!

About the Author

Helene Hagan is a leading anthropologist in the field of Amazigh studies published in the English language and a pioneer in this field.  Amazigh Studies address the language, customs, identity, arts, and oral cultural heritage of Berber and Tuareg peoples of North Africa and the Sahara Desert.  Her articles on a variety of topics related to the Amazigh culture have been published in The Amazigh Voice, a scholarly U.S. magazine.  This book, her second, attempts to fill a void, as no major work has ever been published in the U.S. on the topic of Tuareg Jewelry and its symbolism.  She has brought together a team of knowledgeable individuals in the overall production of this book, from Australia to Europe, and more importantly has relied on the enormously valuable knowledge of Tuareg artisans and experts themselves.

Tuareg Jewelry * by Helene E. Hagan (U.S.) and Lucile Meyers (Australia)
Traditional Patterns and Symbols
Trade Paperback; $42.99; 136 pages; 1-4257-0453-0; Cloth Hardback; $52.99; 136 pages; 1-4257-1537-0

To request a complimentary paperback review copy, contact the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 472. Tearsheets may be sent by regular or electronic mail to Marketing Services. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x.876.