Chinguetti or Shinqit, known as “the library of the desert”, is an oasis town founded in the 8th century as a caravan stop along the pilgrimage routes and lucrative trans-Saharan trade routes that crossed the Sahara, transporting everything from ostrich feathers and dates, to salt, ivory, gold and slaves.
By the 11th century it had become an important center for the Sanhaja, a confederation of Berber tribes, ultimately becoming part of the Almoravid Empire. By the 13th century, it had become a fortified town or Ksour, and became the spiritual and intellectual capital of Mauritania, renowned for its scholars, holy men and students that travelled from all over North and West Africa to study in its libraries.
Even the name of Bilad el–Shinqit (“Chinguettiland”) was used to indicate the entire country between Morocco and the Senegal River.
At its height between the 13th and 19th century, Chinguetti reached an estimated population of 20.000 people and boasted over 30 libraries. Today only 12 remain, of which only 5 or 6 are operational.
The largest of these libraries, the Ould Habott library, still contains c. 1,400 manuscripts. The manuscripts of Chinguetti include religious (theological, juridical, canonical, and hagiographical) and historical texts, texts on traditional knowledge as well as astrology and scientific texts on subjects like astronomy, mathematics, geography and medicine, in addition to other materials like family papers, correspondences, diplomatic, legal, and commercial documents such as deeds of sale, agreements, and certificates.
Manuscripts are predominantly written in Arabic or in Hassaniyya, the Arabic dialect spoken in Mauritania, and a few are written in Peul (Pulaar/Fulani), Songhai, Hausa, and other West African languages transcribed using an adaptation of the Arabic script, known as Ajami. Even Persian manuscripts are found in Chinguetti.
Chinguetti features a wealth of drystone and mudbrick masonry, distinctly unadorned, following the Milikite school of Sunni Islam. The most prominent monument of Chinguetti is the Friday mosque and its minaret, built in the 13th or 14th century.
The unrelenting encroachment of desert sands has engulfed large parts of the town since its former heydays, and many of its buildings lie abandoned, as its inhabitants left for greener pastures, taking many of the historical manuscripts with them.
Today, the town has a new lease of life though, as a popular tourist destination.
