The camels of Agadez
All of a sudden we found ourselves in the famous camel market of Agadez. But Camel racing is a popular sport in Niger Republic, and Camels are also decorated in an excellent fashion at festival times. One of the memorable images I still have of Niger Republic, is that of a man on top of […]
All of a sudden we found ourselves in the famous camel market of Agadez. But Camel racing is a popular sport in Niger Republic, and Camels are also decorated in an excellent fashion at festival times. One of the memorable images I still have of Niger Republic, is that of a man on top of a richly caparisoned camel at Ingall near Agadez, last September.
It’s a wonderful sight. The camel which was part of a group, went at a steady impressive pace,and the rider urged it on. His dark blue Turban was held fimly on his head. His eyes glowed with enthusiasm and his expensive matchless gown billowed in the September wind. In the distance there was rich music and a dance by a Tuareg group which was in its element. Soon, both man and camel had covered a distance, and seemed to be lifted into the blue clouds far away. But here we are in the camel market.
Here camels with regal heads, stand or strut about with ease as we arrive. It is a flat bit of land with a free central portion, where most of the cattle can be found. On the edges can be seen a number of sheds and stalls, where a few persons are sitting. Nice mud brick houses adorn the immediate area outside the market,and a dusty road runs parallel to the market. There are cows and sheep too in the market, but the camels which move about a certain dignity around them, were easily the stars of the place.
The Tuaregs were present too. They either sat or stood, or milled around the camels attending to one urgent task or the other. Their eyes missed nothing, and nothing missed their eyes. Their Turbans which were of varying handsome colours, were also neatly tied. The market is also a very dusty place,and there is a very old smell in the air. The smell of all the camels that ever stepped into the old market to be haggled over and sold, it seems. This is, however, a pleasant smell which governs the air with a gentle hand.
Daily Trust is told that the white camels are the most popular type, which is much sought after by buyers at the market. Some of the camels are sourced from the Air mountains, as well as from Tenere and Bilma. But customers come from as far as Libya, Algeria and Nigeria, the camel traders say. An average camel lives for 25-30 years we are told upon inquiring. The cost of the camels is quite intimidating too.
A big camel costs 600,000 CFA, ($1,200). A small one costs 250,00 CFA($500) says Amantho Tassaho, one of the cattle dealers present. He adds that camels are named after their colours, but he won’t comment further on this. “Tuaregs like their camels very much, and their camels are named after the colour of the particular camel.”
He says that the white camel is more expensive than the black one. A white camel costs 800,000 CFA ($1,500), while a black camel costs 500,000 CFA ($1,000).The camel market is said to be 45 years old, but if Henry Barth visited this market in the 19th century, then it should be much older than the cattle traders said.
Henry Barth describes the camel market at the time he visited in the following words as recorded in his Travels And Discoveries In North and Central Africa “about fifty camels being offered for sale, most of them very young, and the older ones rather indifferent.”
The traders collectively say that the time when they make the most gains at the market is during the Eid El Kabir celebrations,which is also known as the Big Sallah. But the season around February is not a very good time for sales, they say with some pain expressed on their features.
Daily Trust is told that the camel never forgets anything, that happened to it, and that it never forgets a good or bad deed done to it by anyone. Anyone who visits the camel market in Agadez will remember it for many years.