Calendar Pluralism and the Cultural Heritage of Domination and Resistance (Tuareg and Other Saharans)

This article is about Saharan calendars from precolonial times to the present. It shows that multiple calendar use has been a constant feature throughout the centuries, that the distinction between indigenous and imported has little meaning in this region of long-standing cultural exchange, and that many Saharan communities still simultaneously use differing official state, literate specialist, and local popular calendars. Social and political explanations of calendar pluralism are presented, contrasting the center view whereby calendars constitute a means of social control and the periphery view whereby communities may affirm their cultural autonomy through particular calendar choices.