MEDICINES OF THE AYR: I came across this beautiful woman and her children at the foot of the Bagzan mountains. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. There was no camp or anything that looked remotely inhabited within miles in all directions.
My Touareg father Ahoudan explained that she had come to these mountains searching for wild flowers and plants to make traditional remedies. Like the Fulani, the Touareg are also know for their herbal medicines, which they sell far and wide throughout Niger. This woman was searching for plants to heal headaches.
According to Ahoudan, shephard girls in the Bagzan are the beholders of a secret remedy that cures all illnesses; the medicine is composed of over 99 plants and flowers that only grow in the Bagzans. While he can name all the plants, he does not know how they are prepared to make this secret remedy.