For most of them, it is a pendant with a varied silhouette, related either to a cross (tanaghilt), or to a form of plate or shield (talhakim).
The blacksmiths generally use silver and the so-called "lost wax" casting process without ever hammering the metal.
[1][2][3][4] These crosses are generally called tanaghilt (tanaɣilt) or tasagalt, which means "cast in a mold".
The current use of tanaghilt and talhakim is restricted to a few Tuareg tribes: the Kel Aïr, the Kel Geress; as well as to non-Berber ethnic groups across Niger who have adopted it such as the Songhai, Zarma, Peuls and the Hausa peoples of Niger.
The young man then had a jewel forged which combines the two syllables of the Tamashek word "T (a) R (a)" ("tara" meaning "love" and spelled "ⵜⵔ" in the Tifinagh alphabet) and entrusted the blacksmith with the mission of transmitting the message of love to his beloved in the greatest discretion.