This book explores culture, memory, and creativity in acting and plays in Tamajaq-speaking, Muslim, semi-nomadic Tuareg society in northern Mali. Rasmussen analyzes how Tuareg actors negotiate cultural memory and encounters in communities, caught historically and currently between political violence and precarious peace. "Rasmussen has written a richly detailed and compelling study of Tuareg theater in northern Mali and Niger.  She skillfully weaves together the aesthetic, social, and political dimensions of these performances and gives us a rare insight into the lives and artistic practices of the actors who bring the plays to life."