The Legend of the Desert Veil
A Tuareg legend explaining why men of the Kel Tamasheq wear the indigo-dyed tagelmust (veil) that has earned them the name 'the Blue People.' According to oral tradition, when the Tuareg emerged as a distinct people after Tin Hinan led them into the Sahara, the desert spirits tested them with sandstorms that stripped away all protection. A powerful shaman prayed to the spirits of the ancestors, who revealed that blue cloth made from the indigo plant could protect the wearer from both the sun and evil spirits. The indigo dye, it was said, possessed protective properties because it was the color