Queen Tin Hinan, Ancient Ancestress of the Tuaregs (Berber)

                         

Tin Hinan, whose name literally means “she of the tents”, is regarded as the ancient ancestress of the Tuaregs. According to local legends, centuries ago Tin Hinan arrived in the Hoggar region on a milk-white camel along with her faithful servant, Takamet. They are said to have settled in the mountainous region of Algeria, and she became the first Queen of the Tuaregs.

Tuaregs are Berber nomadic people of the Sahara. In the 20th century they were referred to as “People of the Veil” or even “the Blue People,” in a description of their brightly indigo-colored clothing.

The warrior caste of the Tuaregs believed that they were Tin Hinan’s direct descendants, while the peasantry regarded themselves as the offspring of her handmaiden Takamet.

In 1925, de Prorok was unlikely to have any qualms about opening the tomb, though the Tuaregs viewed this as an act of desecration. A thunderstorm that broke out suddenly during the expedition gave fuel to the superstition that angry djinns (supernatural creatures made of smokeless fire) were avenging the desecration of Tin Hinan’s tomb. The storm soon passed, however, and de Prorok continued his work.

The tomb contained a number of rooms, though it had only one entrance. Based on its plans, it has been suggested that it was originally a Roman fort. Some have even linked this structure with the Roman raid into the Sahara under Lucius Cornelius Balbus in 19 B.C. When the Romans left the area, the fort may have been re-used by the locals, eventually becoming a tomb.

Other jewelry, including beads of turquoise, garnet, amazonite and cornelian, were also found in the tomb. It has been suggested that these prestige items came from Carthage in the north. The dating of the tomb, however, was made possible by analyzing the pottery located among the artifacts.

When the wooden platform was carbon dated years later, the results suggest the woman was buried there sometime between the third and fifth century, which agreed with the dates gained through the analysis of pottery typology.

The wealth of objects in the grave indicates that the woman buried there was almost certainly someone of high status in her society. Yet, apart from local tradition, some argue that there is nothing else to prove that the skeleton belonged to Tin Hinan. Regardless of the woman’s identity, this would probably not affect the respect that the Tuaregs hold for their great ancestress.

One of the ways Tin Hinan is honored today is the celebration of the Tin Hinan Festival, a tribute not only to this queen, but also to the role that women play in Algerian society today.