Leather craftsmanship
Cow, goat and dromedary skins accompany the life of this people, once great nomads and pastoralists. The cobblers spend hours making and decorating the familiar objects. You can find leather cushions (which in the tent are used as pillows or armrests), accessories for smokers (snuffboxes with several pockets to store tobacco, lighters, pipe cleaners), key rings, dagger cases or handbags copied from European models, but decorated with traditional motifs.
Woodworking
Wood was also very present in the daily life of the nomads. Today, the craftsmen continue to work this material, in a raw way or finely cut and engraved with a chisel.
You will be able to bring back from your trip beautiful wooden cups, blackened by fire and decorated with geometrical patterns. Made in the regions of Kaédi and Boghé, Mauritanians serve zrig (a refreshing drink made from fermented goat or camel milk). You will find rosaries, combs, "sig" game sticks, door latches, carved doors, stools from the river region, or even Koranic boards(alluha). What about the feet of theamsàqqab? These are thin wooden boards very elaborate and decorative. Theamsàqqab was used as a luggage table in the tent, and as a palanquin on the dromedary.
Jewelry
The jewels, rarely made of gold, are most often made of silver or metal to which woodwork (ebony or fake ebony) can be associated. Many are the bracelets, rings, earrings, or even shell beads. You will be spoilt for choice between beads made by women in Kiffa and Oualata, from imported glass. Others will want to get a Berber cross, like the one worn by the Tuaregs, also called the Agadez Cross or the Southern Cross.
Around the tea
Tea, like the five prayers, gives rhythm to the day of all Mauritanians. It is a real ritual, defined by 3 "J": jmaa, the group; jmar, the ember; jar, the time. It is generally savored in 3 glasses: the first, bitter as life, the second, sweet as love, and the last, sweet as death...
Although imported from China, the tea is sold in packages representing the symbols of the country (dromedary, desert...). To reproduce the tea ceremony when you return from your trip, buy a small enamel teapot in red, blue, green or brown. Others are finely hand painted. Be sure to include a few matching tea glasses and, if you have more space, larger hand-painted iron tea caddies can be found in the Brakna region. They can hold a teapot, glasses and a stove all in one.
The paradise of fabrics
Who could come back from a trip to Mauritania without loading his luggage with a few pieces of fabric? At the central market, at the Fifth market in Nouakchott, at the Keyran market in Nouadhibou, in each city you will find stores displaying voile, cotton, jersey, bazin, wax... The most difficult thing will be to make your choice!
Among the traditional fabrics, the melhafa (in this long veil of 3,50 m on 1,60 m, the Mauritanian women roll up from the head to the feet to protect themselves from the sun, the wind and the heat, melhfa meaning "to cover" in Arabic). An emblem of elegance, it comes in a range of colors and patterns and can be matched with shoes, bags and jewelry. The hand-dyed ones, especially the indigo, are worn on festive days.
Next comes the chèche(haouli), a long turban of 4 to 8 meters that the man wraps around his head and face to protect himself from the sun and the sandy winds (blue or white, sometimes khaki).
You will also find sarouels (baggy pants, very practical for walking in the desert) and drâa or boubou (in simple cotton or in damask bazin, blue or white).
On the markets
Mauritania's markets may seem poor, dull and dusty. On the sidewalk, small wooden shelters with torn fabrics and plastic bags house rickety displays of bric-a-brac. Sometimes even a mat on the ground becomes a stall.
The stalls of the food markets are full of dates of all kinds. But most of them come from Algeria or Tunisia. The local production is not sufficient for export but if you persevere, you will be able to find the delicious dates of Adrar (also in the few stores or supermarkets).
Another symbol of the country is gum arabic: it comes from the acacia tree in the Sahelian region of Mauritania and you will find it in the markets in the form of crystals, sometimes powder. Its binding and emulsifying properties are used in cooking and baking, and it has the advantage of reducing the glycemic index.
Don't hesitate to stock up on all kinds of spices, dried plants for your infusions (ginger, kinkeliba, or the inevitable bissap, hibiscus flower to be consumed cold or hot), or raw peanuts.
In the fish market, you will find bottarga, the egg pouch of the female mullet, sometimes called Mediterranean caviar.
Some additional memories
TOOGGA cosmetic products (made from date oil, toogga being the fruit of the desert date palm, a thorny plant common in the Sahel-Saharan region) can be found in Nouakchott, at the Jeloua Inn or in the Zeinart and Sinaa galleries. They are available in body oils, soaps and lip balms. In these same spaces, don't miss to buy camel milk jam, which is certainly not a cosmetic product, but which will delight your taste buds!
To be found in the local handicraft stores in Nouakchott, bring back woven mats made of plants with leather decorations, made in the Diawling region, in the south of Mauritania.
Finally, the most imposing, but the most unforgettable: why not treat yourself to a khaima (traditional nomad tent)! They are traditionally made by women, gathered in a cooperative in Nouakchott ("Memory of a continent") because, without a real policy to promote their work, craftsmen are often isolated.
