Tuareg arched mat tent, beehive straw hut, and wind-screen, near Tombouctou, Mali

"Offering containment and protection from the elements, the tent -symbolic of marriage, family, and the womb- was at one time central to the lives of most Tuareg. Over the last thirty years many Tuareg have become sedentary and now live in adobe or cement-block houses in towns and cities." [Loughran K, 2006: The Stuff for Life: Tent, Food, Weapons. Art of Being Tuareg. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History]. During his trip to Mali, Elisofon visited the Kel Tademekket confederation of Tuareg people located in the Tombouctou region. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.