Book Review: Nomades de Mauritanie by Himpan, Brigitte, and Diane Himpan-Sabatier

Abstract

Nomades de Mauritanie (Nomads of Mauritania) is an exceptionally comprehensive and very well-structured book on Mauritanian Nomad geography and culture written by the author and artist Brigitte Himpan and her daughter Diane Himpan-Sabatier. The book was published both in French by Academia-L’Harmattan in 2018 and in English by Vernon Press in 2019. Covering 460 pages and richly illustrated by 100 drawings and photos in meticulous detail, the book adopts a highly interdisciplinary approach covering all essential aspects of geography and Nomad culture of Mauritanie. Nomads of Mauritania immerses the reader into the cultural identity of Nomads via their religion, beliefs, language, values, and in particular their art. The book provides a new perspective on Mauritanian Nomad Art by identifying it as a “geometrically-abstract functional art” and defining it both as “ephemeral functional art” and “ephemeral living art.” The book contains nine chapters, beginning its first chapter with a detailed presentation of the Geography of Mauritanie, covering climate, hydrology, vegetation, fauna, population, mineral, and marine resources. This chapter ends with current problems of climate change and desertification including a valuable quantification of droughts since the 1970s. In its second chapter, the book introduces the history of Mauritanie, starting from prehistorical times, covering the ancient inhabitants of Mauritanie, the arrival of the first Berbers from India, the second wave of Berbers of Arab origin, Mauritanie during antiquity, the arrival of Arabs and Islam in North Africa and Mauritanie, the rise of African power in southern Mauritanie and the emergence of European maritime commerce, the control of the Mauritanian territory by the Moors, the different stages of colonisation ending with the country’s current status since independence and the Western Saharan war. Very capturing is the special focus on Nomadism in the third chapter, with an explanation of the factors leading to the onset of nomadism, interaction between nomadism and Moorish activities, its social organisation and daily life as well as the cultural and religious impacts of Nomadic Moors. Chapter four is closely related, revealing the Nomadic caste system and considering their hierarchy and activities from before 1981 up to their role in today’s Mauritanian society. Food security is then a central theme of chapter five, spanning the essential quest for water, breeding, data harvesting, and salt trade. Chapter six considers the material activities of Nomads, covering