Tamaske is a city and rural commune in

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. It is located in the

Keita Department Keita is a department of the Tahoua Region in Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger b ...

, in the

Tahoua Region Tahoua is one of seven regions of Niger. The capital of the region is the commune of Tahoua. The region covers 106,677 km². Geography Tahoua borders Agadez Region to the northeast, Maradi Region to the southeast, Nigeria's Sokoto State t ...

Geography

Tamaske lies in the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

biome in Niger. The neighboring municipalities are Kalfou in the northwest, Keita in the northeast, Garhanga in the southeast and Badaguichiri in the south. The municipality is divided into 42 administrative villages, 41 villages and two camps.

History

Upon arrival of the first French military expedition in 1900 Tamaske was already a large Hausa settlement. In 1901, the French established a military post in the community.Frédéric Giraut: ''La petite ville. Un milieu adapté aux paradoxes de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. Etudes sur le semis et comparaison du système social et-spatial de sept localités: Badou et Anié (Togo), Jasikan et Kadjebi (Ghana), Torodi, Tamaské et Keïta (Niger)''. Dissertation, Universität Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne 1994
Online-Version
PDF; 2,3 MB), pp. 166-167 The market of Tamaske was one of the most important markets in the region that have been approved at the beginning of the 20th century by the French administration. In 1913, Tamaske was dissolved as a separate canton and merged with the canton of Keita. Trade suffered at the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and the Hausa clashed with the nearby

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

. In 1988, Tamaske received the status of a commune together with twelve other villages nearby. This can be attributed to its large size and the economic weight of the Hausa inhabitants, who secured the administrative functions of a commune. Tamaske was hit by a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

outbreak in October 2014.

Demographics

In the 2001 census, Tamaské had 67,486 residents. The population had increased to 111,358 by the 2012 census. Of that, 54,349 were male and 57,009 were female. The rapid growth of the commune has placed burdens of traditional land use patterns.

Culture and landmarks

A large mosque in the Iraqi style was built in Tamaske in 1979. The construction was financed by Hausa merchants from Tamaske, who had emigrated to Nigeria.

Economy and infrastructure

Tamaske is a main center of commerce in the

. However, agriculture is the principal occupation, as the soil is rich for planting. In 2010, a trading center for onions was established. The region is well known for its onion cultivation. Tamaske located on the National Road 16. The community is home to one of three tanneries in the Tahoua region. The other two are in the regional capital

Tahoua Tahoua is a city in Niger and the administrative centre of the Department of Tahoua and the larger Tahoua Region. ...

and in the rural commune of Galma Koudawatche.''Présentation de Tahoua, région phare de la sixième édition du SAFEM 2009''
(PDF; 866 kB). S. 8, SAFEM, accessed 23 October 2016

References

External links

Administrative map of Tamaske
{{coord, 14, 50, N, 5, 39, E, display=title, region:NE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Communes of Niger