Marandet

At the southern foot of the Aïr Mountains, Marandet preserves the traces of an old centre of metalworking and exchange. Thousands of clay crucibles have been found in the area, where craftspeople worked copper and iron. The settlement is associated with Maranda, a place described by medieval Arabic geographers on routes crossing the Sahel toward the Sahara. Archaeological finds testify to its connections with lands beyond the immediate region.

Maranda had declined by the twelfth century as Tigidda grew in importance farther west. Yet its name survived in the traditions of peoples who moved south from Aïr, including the Gobirawa. These stories remember Marandet as one of the places connected with their earlier homeland, before their journeys toward the Hausa country.