Self-respecting Tuareg still think it shockingly indecent for a man to let his mouth be seen by anyone to whom he owes the least formal respect, so much so in fact that Lhote was able to write of Tuareg women married for over 20 years who claimed never to have seen the mouths of their own husbands. When a man is eating or drinking, the left hand is slid up underneath the fold of cloth that covers the face so as to hold it out away from the mouth without raising it above chin level, and the spoon, bowl or glass containing food or drink is then passed up under the veil with the right hand in such a way that the mouth and even the chin remain concealed during the entire process.
*Tuareg attach considerable importance to indigo blue cotton cloth, a product which they get from the Sudan. (…) The cloth itself, of very ordinary quality, is so heavily impregnated with crude indigo as to be literally stiff with it. A brand new piece looks black when seen at a distance or in a poor light, but in bright sunlight it is a dark purplish blue with a coppery sheen like that of cheap carbon paper; and the indigo dye comes off on your fingers at the slightest touch, just as the ink on carbon paper does but much more so.
Obviously, anyone who wears clothes made of such material is soon stained with indigo from head to foot, and the Tuareg even rub it into their skin on purpose. Women often smear it on their foreheads, cheeks and temples and around their mouths by way of make-up. (…) If the Tuareg wash themselves only very rarely, it is partly to preserve the accumulated protective coating of indigo (…). A dirty looking, bluish skin is admired by the Tuareg just as much as a rich golden tan is admired in midwinter by the business men and women of New England and New York.
L. Cabot Briggs, The living races of the Sahara desert
