MOUSSA ALBAKA IN TUCSON,AZ
#520 576-3298 [email protected]
Moussa [email protected]
Moussa Albaka is a Tuareg tribesman from Niger, in West Africa. For many
generations, his family, of the Inadan class, has been involved in
silversmithing, as well as camel caravan trading throughout the Sahara. He and
the men in his family are highly skilled producers of Tuareg jewelry. Albaka
creations include necklaces and amulets, bracelets, earrings, buckles, daggers,
and locks, all handmade of 95% silver. The lost wax process is used, and the
techniques of decoration are engraving, repoussé, and inlay with semi-precious
stones, other metals, and ebony. Many of the designs are traditional, but Moussa
has long been creating more modern pieces in his own unique style.
Tuareg jewelry is highly valued among the peoples of Africa. Europeans also
have developed an appreciation for Tuareg aesthetics. Moussa has collaborated
with several well-known designers and has won the UNESCO award for artistic
excellence with his work. Since 2000, he has attended fairs and shows all over
the U.S. and at present, makes his home in Tucson. In a book about Tuareg
society by Dominique Casajus, his family, was featured in the text with
photographs. At the Center for Scientific Research in Paris, he assisted a poet
in translating a book of French poetry into Tamasheq (the language of the Tuareg
and Berbers).
Houa Albaka, Moussa’s sister, and the other women in his family, make
traditional leather camel bags, pouches, purses, belts, boxes, and pillow
covers. They are decorated with designs in brightly colored leather which is
etched, woven, embroidered, and fringed. Like the silver jewelry, this work is
unique to the Tuareg.
The Tuareg are popularly known as the “Blue Men of the Sahara” because the
indigo dye pounded into their robes and turbans rubs off on their skin. It is
tradition for Tuareg men to veil, especially in formal situations, while women
do not. Aesthetic beauty through dress and jewelry is valued. The Tuareg live as
nomads, herders, farmers, and now, city dwellers, mainly in Niger, Mali, Libya,
and Burkina Faso, with Agadez in Niger, as the tribal center.
Moussa Albaka has a large extended family in Niger, including fourteen
children (his own and those he fosters from his brother.
generations, his family, of the Inadan class, has been involved in
silversmithing, as well as camel caravan trading throughout the Sahara. He and
the men in his family are highly skilled producers of Tuareg jewelry. Albaka
creations include necklaces and amulets, bracelets, earrings, buckles, daggers,
and locks, all handmade of 95% silver. The lost wax process is used, and the
techniques of decoration are engraving, repoussé, and inlay with semi-precious
stones, other metals, and ebony. Many of the designs are traditional, but Moussa
has long been creating more modern pieces in his own unique style.
Tuareg jewelry is highly valued among the peoples of Africa. Europeans also
have developed an appreciation for Tuareg aesthetics. Moussa has collaborated
with several well-known designers and has won the UNESCO award for artistic
excellence with his work. Since 2000, he has attended fairs and shows all over
the U.S. and at present, makes his home in Tucson. In a book about Tuareg
society by Dominique Casajus, his family, was featured in the text with
photographs. At the Center for Scientific Research in Paris, he assisted a poet
in translating a book of French poetry into Tamasheq (the language of the Tuareg
and Berbers).
Houa Albaka, Moussa’s sister, and the other women in his family, make
traditional leather camel bags, pouches, purses, belts, boxes, and pillow
covers. They are decorated with designs in brightly colored leather which is
etched, woven, embroidered, and fringed. Like the silver jewelry, this work is
unique to the Tuareg.
The Tuareg are popularly known as the “Blue Men of the Sahara” because the
indigo dye pounded into their robes and turbans rubs off on their skin. It is
tradition for Tuareg men to veil, especially in formal situations, while women
do not. Aesthetic beauty through dress and jewelry is valued. The Tuareg live as
nomads, herders, farmers, and now, city dwellers, mainly in Niger, Mali, Libya,
and Burkina Faso, with Agadez in Niger, as the tribal center.
Moussa Albaka has a large extended family in Niger, including fourteen
children (his own and those he fosters from his brother.
HOUA ALBAKA
LEATHER WORK
MOUSSAS SISTER