Of the five Temazheg poems which follow I have only attempted the translation of four. The fifth, though the vocabulary is comparatively simple, is so elliptical in construction that a translation is impossible. The same applies in a lesser degree to the others, the translation of which is therefore somewhat free.

Tuareg poets, besides being fond of topical references which are incomprehensible to strangers, are inclined rather to flatter the intelligence of their hearers than to err by being too explicit. Grammar and syntax are freely sacrificed to metre and effect.