Taoudenni
Encyclopedia
Taoudenni is a remote salt mining center in the desert region of northern Mali
, 664 km (412.6 mi) north of Timbuktu
. The salt is dug by hand from the bed of an ancient salt lake
, cut into slabs and transported either by truck or by camel to Timbuktu. The camel caravans
(azalai
) from Taoudenni are some of the last that still operate in the Sahara
. In the late 1960's during the regime of Moussa Traoré
, a prison was built at the site and the inmates forced to work in the mines. The prison was closed in 1988.
(150 km north west of Taoudenni) some of the miners moved to 'Tawdani'. In 1906 Édouard Cortier visited Taoudenni with a unit of the French camel corps (méhariste
s) and published the first description of the mines. At the time the only building was the Ksar
de Smida which had a surrounding wall with a single small entrance on the western side. The ruins are still visible 600 m north of the prison building.
The Taoudenni mines are located on the bed of an ancient salt lake
. The miners use crude axes to dig pits that usually measure 5 m by 5 m with a depth of 4 m. The miners first remove 1.5 m of red clay overburden, then several layers of poor quality salt before reaching three layers of high quality salt. The salt is cut into slabs that are 110 cm x 45 cm by 5 cm in thickness and weigh around 30 kg. Two of the high quality layers are of sufficient thickness to be split in half so that 5 slabs can be produced from the three layers. Having removed the salt from the base area of the pit, the miners excavate horizontally to create galleries from which additional slabs can be obtained.
As each pit is exhausted another is dug so there are now thousands of pits spread over a wide area. Over the centuries salt has been extracted from three distinct areas of the depression with each successive area located further to the south west. The three areas can be clearly seen on satellite photographs. At the time of Édouard Cortier's visit in 1906 the mining area was 3 km south of the ksar, in the 1950's the active mines were located in an area 5 km from the ksar, while the current mines are at a distance of 9 km.
In 2007-2008 there were around 350 teams of miners with each team usually consisting of an experienced miner with 2 labourers giving a total of around 1000 men. The men live in primitive huts constructed from blocks of inferior quality salt and work at the mines from October to April, avoiding the hottest months of the year when only about 10 of them remain.
The slabs are transported across the desert via the oasis of Araouane
to Timbuktu
. In the past they were always carried by camel but recently some of the salt has been moved by four-wheel drive trucks. By camel the journey to Timbuktu takes around three weeks with each camel carrying either four or five slabs. The typical arrangement is that for each four slabs transported to Timbuktu, one is for the miners and the other three are payment for the camel owners.
Up to the middle of the 20th century the salt was transported in two large camel caravans (azalaï
), one leaving Timbuktu in early November and a second leaving Timbuktu in late March at the end of the season. Horace Miner, an American anthropologist who spent seven months in the town, estimated that in 1939-40 the winter caravan consisted of more than 4,000 camels and that the total production amounted to 35,000 slabs of salt. Jean Clauzel records that the number of slabs reaching Timbuktu increased from 10,515 in 1926 to 160,000 (4800 t) in 1957-1958. However, in the early 1970's the production decreased and at the end of the decade was between 50,000 and 70,000 slabs.
. The prison was used to detain political prisoners until 1988 when it was closed. Many of the prisoners were government officials who had been accused of plotting against the regime. The prisoners worked in the salt mines and many of them died. To the east of the ruins of the prison building is a cemetery containing 140 individual graves, of which only a dozen have names. They include:
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, 664 km (412.6 mi) north of Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
. The salt is dug by hand from the bed of an ancient salt lake
Salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water which has a concentration of salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes . In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water, but such lakes would also be termed hypersaline lakes...
, cut into slabs and transported either by truck or by camel to Timbuktu. The camel caravans
Camel train
A camel train is a series of camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made camel trains a vital part of...
(azalai
Azalai
The Azalai is a semi annual salt caravan route practiced by Tuareg traders in the Sahara desert, or the act of traveling with a caravan along that route.- History :...
) from Taoudenni are some of the last that still operate in the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
. In the late 1960's during the regime of Moussa Traoré
Moussa Traoré
General Moussa Traoré is a Malian soldier and politician. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ouster of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he served as Head of State from 1968-1979, and President of Mali from 1979 to 1991, when he was overthrown by popular protests and military coup...
, a prison was built at the site and the inmates forced to work in the mines. The prison was closed in 1988.
Salt mining
The earliest mention of Taoudenni is by al-Sadi in his Tarikh al-Sudan who wrote that in 1586 when Moroccan forces attacked the salt mining center of TaghazaTaghaza
Taghaza is an abandoned salt-mining centre located in a salt pan in the desert region of northern Mali. It was an important source of rock salt for West Africa up to the end of the 17th century when it was abandoned and replaced by Taoudenni. Salt from the mines formed an important part of the...
(150 km north west of Taoudenni) some of the miners moved to 'Tawdani'. In 1906 Édouard Cortier visited Taoudenni with a unit of the French camel corps (méhariste
Mehariste
Méhariste is a French word that roughly translates to camel cavalry. The word is most commonly used as a designation of military units.-Origins of French Camel Corps:...
s) and published the first description of the mines. At the time the only building was the Ksar
Ksar
Ksar is the Arabic term for "castle", loaned from Latin castrum.The Berber equivalent is aghrem or ighrman ....
de Smida which had a surrounding wall with a single small entrance on the western side. The ruins are still visible 600 m north of the prison building.
The Taoudenni mines are located on the bed of an ancient salt lake
Salt lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water which has a concentration of salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes . In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water, but such lakes would also be termed hypersaline lakes...
. The miners use crude axes to dig pits that usually measure 5 m by 5 m with a depth of 4 m. The miners first remove 1.5 m of red clay overburden, then several layers of poor quality salt before reaching three layers of high quality salt. The salt is cut into slabs that are 110 cm x 45 cm by 5 cm in thickness and weigh around 30 kg. Two of the high quality layers are of sufficient thickness to be split in half so that 5 slabs can be produced from the three layers. Having removed the salt from the base area of the pit, the miners excavate horizontally to create galleries from which additional slabs can be obtained.
As each pit is exhausted another is dug so there are now thousands of pits spread over a wide area. Over the centuries salt has been extracted from three distinct areas of the depression with each successive area located further to the south west. The three areas can be clearly seen on satellite photographs. At the time of Édouard Cortier's visit in 1906 the mining area was 3 km south of the ksar, in the 1950's the active mines were located in an area 5 km from the ksar, while the current mines are at a distance of 9 km.
In 2007-2008 there were around 350 teams of miners with each team usually consisting of an experienced miner with 2 labourers giving a total of around 1000 men. The men live in primitive huts constructed from blocks of inferior quality salt and work at the mines from October to April, avoiding the hottest months of the year when only about 10 of them remain.
The slabs are transported across the desert via the oasis of Araouane
Araouane
Araouane or Arawan is a small village in the Malian Sahara, lying north of Timbuktu on the caravan route to Taoudenni. The village once served as an entrepôt in the trans-Saharan trade....
to Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
. In the past they were always carried by camel but recently some of the salt has been moved by four-wheel drive trucks. By camel the journey to Timbuktu takes around three weeks with each camel carrying either four or five slabs. The typical arrangement is that for each four slabs transported to Timbuktu, one is for the miners and the other three are payment for the camel owners.
Up to the middle of the 20th century the salt was transported in two large camel caravans (azalaï
Azalai
The Azalai is a semi annual salt caravan route practiced by Tuareg traders in the Sahara desert, or the act of traveling with a caravan along that route.- History :...
), one leaving Timbuktu in early November and a second leaving Timbuktu in late March at the end of the season. Horace Miner, an American anthropologist who spent seven months in the town, estimated that in 1939-40 the winter caravan consisted of more than 4,000 camels and that the total production amounted to 35,000 slabs of salt. Jean Clauzel records that the number of slabs reaching Timbuktu increased from 10,515 in 1926 to 160,000 (4800 t) in 1957-1958. However, in the early 1970's the production decreased and at the end of the decade was between 50,000 and 70,000 slabs.
Prison
A military post and a prison were built at Taoudenni in 1969, during the regime of Moussa TraoréMoussa Traoré
General Moussa Traoré is a Malian soldier and politician. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ouster of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he served as Head of State from 1968-1979, and President of Mali from 1979 to 1991, when he was overthrown by popular protests and military coup...
. The prison was used to detain political prisoners until 1988 when it was closed. Many of the prisoners were government officials who had been accused of plotting against the regime. The prisoners worked in the salt mines and many of them died. To the east of the ruins of the prison building is a cemetery containing 140 individual graves, of which only a dozen have names. They include:
- Yoro DiakitéYoro DiakitéYoro Diakité was a Malian politician and military figure. Diakite was the Prime Minister of Mali from 19 November 1968 to 18 September 1969. He died in the Taoudenni prison camp in June 1973.-References:...
, head of the first provisional government following the coup of 19 November 1968, he died in 1973. - Tiécoro Bagayoko, head of security services from 1968 to 1978, he died in August 1983.
- Kissima Doukara, Minister of Defence 1968-1978.
- Youssouf Balla Sylla, police chief of the 3rd Arrondissement of BamakoBamakoBamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world...
. - Jean Bolon Samaké, head of the Goundam CercleGoundam CercleGoundam Cercle is a second level administrative subdivision of the Tombouctou Region in north-eastern Mali. Its administrative center is the town of Goundam. In the 2009 census, the cercle had a population of 150,150....
in 1969, he died in 1973.