Anubis: A Desert Novel

Glossary of Tuareg Terms

Amahagh and Amazegh: The singular forms, respectively, of Imuhagh and Imazeghen, which are names the Tuareg use for themselves. Both words mean dispossessed, plundered, lost, and noble.

Amnay: Seer, priest, diviner, and divine creature.

Anubi (Anubis): Son of an unknown father.

Anubis: In ancient Egypt, Anubis was the illegitimate son of Osiris, who accidentally cohabited with Nephthys, the wife of his brother Seth. She gave birth to Anubis, who became the god who attended the dead in the netherworld.

Ara: A word of contrasting meanings in Tuareg: either son or grandfather, offspring or progenitor.

Asaho: The constellation Canis Major or the star Sirius in it. Also known as Sau.

Azzka: In the ancient language, a tomb or dwelling, now used for a city.

Ba: The father, spirit, the nonexistent.

Hur: ‘Guardian’ in Tuareg, equivalent to the ancient Egyptian Horus.

Imazeghen: See Amahagh.

Imsikni: Marker, statue, or road sign.

Imuhagh: See Amahagh.

Iyghf: Head or intellect.

Iyla: The master, the existent, God.

Ma: The mother, mouth, cavity, water, natural characteristics, nature.

Ragh: The flaming, the yellow, the golden, the sun, the lord.

Sau: See Asaho.

Tin Hinan: Legendary matriarch of the Tuareg, a queen and priestess.

Wa: A child, birth, the existent.