1st Tirailleur Regiment

The band at a Victory in Europe Day ceremony in Strasbourg, 8 May 2013.

The regimental military band of the regiment is known as the "Nouba". The traditional uniform is generally derived from those in use in the 19th century. The earliest evidence of music in these African regiments dates back to the centenary of Algeria in 1860, and the painter Edouard Detaille in 1884 represented the nouba of the 2nd Infantry. The band, which is a small size ensemble, has had a turkish crescent used for ceremonial dutues since the end of the First World War.[5]

Around 1930, some regiments most often had a mascot, a bighorn sheep or a ram. The mascot of the 1st Regiment is called Messaoud, which in Arabic means "fortune".[5]

Soldiers of the 1st Tirailleur Regiment displaying late 19th- to early 20th-century uniforms for Bastille Day festivities in Strasbourg.

A characteristic of La Nouba is its oriental dress, which recalls the uniform of the old Algerian tirailleurs created around 1840. The origin of these troops goes back to the Arab and Turkish units formed by the French after the Invasion of Algiers in 1830, with volunteers, contingents provided by different local chiefs, or with organized troops from the various beys defeated by the French.[5]

This uniform consists of baggy pants called "saroual", which sky blue or white depending on the season, tightened at the waist by a wide red woolen belt. Its function was to keep the abdomen of soldiers and non-commissioned officers warm to prevent them from suffering from intestinal ailments. The short, blue jacket, with yellow facings drawing beautiful scrolls, is worn over a sleeveless vest: the "sedria". On the head, the skirmishers wear the "chèche", that is to say a strip of white rolled up fabric, or the "chéchia" in crimson felt with a pompom with sky blue fringes. Only this regiment is authorized to wear the golden half-moon on a clear sky-blue background, crowned with three chevrons of the African arm.[5]