Round Silver Earrings

$100.00

Artist: Koumama Family

Region / Country: Africa / Niger

Beautifully proportioned handcrafted round silver earrings made of fine (99%) silver. These earrings have an off-center hole and are inlaid with ebony. They are hand engraved so each pair of earrings has a slight variation in the pattern. The earrings are about 1 inch wide and 1 7/8 inches long from the top of the hook to the bottom of the circle. (SKU: TJ-3004)

Artist: Koumama Family

Region: Africa

Country: Niger

The Koumama family is Tuareg which traditionally has been semi-nomadic. Some call Tuaregs the "Blue People" due to the indigo used to dye men's deep blue tagelmusts (turbans). Most Tuaregs live in northern Niger with some living in Mali and Algeria. Today the ancient Tuareg classes, Nobles (camel herders), Vassals (goat herders), Inadan (blacksmiths) and slaves (now outlawed) still exist. However, following the famines of the 1970s and 1980s and civil unrest, many have been forced to abandon their herds and take on labor and lifestyles they might traditionally have rejected.