Donkey Back bracelet

As stated above, Gargouri-Sethom thinks this form has Libyan origins. HOWEVER, I now suspect that the true origin of this bracelet form may be from the Sub-Saharan regions. Check out these photos of bracelets from Niger.

Notice the similarity in shape? And the symbols etched onto them appear to be Berber. There are two possible connections between these and my Tunisian bracelet. There is a minority ethnic community of sub-Saharan origin who lives in Tunisia, and it is possible that they brought this design to the region. Another possibility is that this design was brought by the Taureg. Taureg territory does NOT include Tunisia, but according to my research their trade routes did extend into Tunisia. This bracelet design may have found its entry point through the southern most Tunisian border with Libya which was historically part of Taureg territory. Having said this, the Tunisian version has incorporated many elements of Tunisian design, such as the bird motif. And the construction of this is solid and very heavy in comparison to the Niger bracelets. I have also seen other examples of this bracelet form identified as being from Mali. This would fit my Taureg theory since Mali is also part of Taureg territory.

Comments

Suzan Kaplan September 20, 2011 at 3:44pm

I love it! I haven't seen this shape; so interesting dimensionally. Is it very heavy?
Edith D September 20, 2011 at 4:03pm

Yes, very!
Edith D September 25, 2017 at 5:42am

As stated above, Gargouri-Sethom thinks this form has Libyan origins. HOWEVER, I now suspect that the true origin of this bracelet form may be from the Sub-Saharan regions. Check out these photos of bracelets from Niger.

Notice the similarity in shape? And the symbols etched onto them appear to be Berber. There are two possible connections between these and my Tunisian bracelet. There is a minority ethnic community of sub-Saharan origin who lives in Tunisia, and it is possible that they brought this design to the region. Another possibility is that this design was brought by the Taureg. Taureg territory does NOT include Tunisia, but according to my research their trade routes did extend into Tunisia. This bracelet design may have found its entry point through the southern most Tunisian border with Libya which was historically part of Taureg territory. Having said this, the Tunisian version has incorporated many elements of Tunisian design, such as the bird motif. And the construction of this is solid and very heavy in comparison to the Niger bracelets. I have also seen other examples of this bracelet form identified as being from Mali. This would fit my Taureg theory since Mali is also part of Taureg territory.

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Photos

Donkey Back bracelet

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