Bellah (caste)

The Ikelan (Éklan/Ikelan or Ibenheren in Tamasheq; Bouzou in Hausa; Bella in Songhai; singular Akli) are a caste within Tuareg society, who were at one time slaves or servile communities.

The Ikelan's situation is somewhat analogous to that of the Haratin within Maure society in Mauritania. Like the Haratin, the name "Ikelan", and to a much greater degree ''Bouzou'' and ''Bella'', are exonyms (a name not used by that people themselves) with negative connotations. Historically the term "Ikelan" has been used to refer to the slaves of the Tuareg.

Caste system

The Tuareg people have in the past had a highly socially stratified society, with specific social roles (warriors, religious leaders) or professions (blacksmiths, farmers, merchants) assigned to specific castes. The tiny aristocratic caste of warrior elite which once sat atop a pyramid of Tuareg society was decimated during the wars of the colonial period, and this, along with economic necessity, post-colonial border restrictions, and modern education, have broken down many traditional caste barriers. Tuareg higher caste traditions value a nomadic life, warfare, study, animal husbandry, and trade. Consequently, Higher caste communities travel, at least seasonally, if able. Lower caste groups, not limited to the Ikelan are more likely to live in settled communities, either in Sahara oasis towns or in villages scattered among other ethnic groups in the sahel region to the south.

Formation and role

As the Tuareg moved south on the continent in the 11th century AD, they took slaves as prisoners of war. Most slaves were taken from adjacent populations, as well from rival Tuareg ''Kel''s (tribal confederations). These ''éklan'' once formed a distinct social class in Tuareg society.

Servile groups came in two forms: domestic slaves lived near their owners as domestic servants and herders, and functioned as part of the family, with close social interactions. Additionally, entire communities became servile to aristocratic tribes, conquered ''in situ'', formed by migration of Ikelan families or even other ethnic groups moving into Tuareg controlled communities seeking protection. Sometimes members of rival Kels, defeated in war, were subsumed as lower castes, but usually of higher level than the Ikelan.

Servile farming or salt extraction communities, somewhat analogous to European Serfs were gradually assimilated into Tuareg culture, maintained Tuaregs herders during their annual transhumance cycle, or provided trade or farming centers for Tuareg clans. Prior to the 20th century, the Tuareg captured most individual slaves during raids into other communities and in war. War was then the main source of supply of slaves, although many were bought at slave markets, run mostly by indigenous peoples.

Some Tuareg noble and vassal men married slaves, and their children became freemen. In this sense, ''éklan'' formed distinct subsections of a family: "fictive children." Entire Ikelan communities, on the other hand were a class held in an inherited serf-like condition, common among some societies in pre-colonial West Africa, and often having little interaction with "their" nobles though most of the year.Anti-Slavery International & Association Timidira, Galy kadir Abdelkader, ed. ''Niger: Slavery in Historical, Legal and Contemporary Perspectives''
. March 2004

When French colonial governments were established, they passed legislation to abolish slavery, but did not enforce it. Some commentators believe the French interest was directed more at dismantling the traditional Tuareg political economy, which depended on slave labor for herding, than at freeing the slaves. Historian Martin Klein reports that there was a large scale attempt by French West African authorities to liberate slaves and other bonded castes in Tuareg areas following the 1914–1916 Firouan revolt.

Despite this, French officials following the Second World War reported there were some 50,000 "''Bella''" under direct control of Tuareg masters in the Gao - Timbuktu areas of French Soudan alone. This was at least four decades after French declarations of mass freedom had happened in other areas of the colony. In 1946, a series of mass desertions of Tuareg slaves and bonded communities began in Nioro and later in Menaka, quickly spreading along the Niger River valley.

In the first decade of the 20th century, French administrators in southern Tuareg areas of French Soudan estimated "free" to "servile" Tuareg populations at rations of 1 to 8 or 9.Klein (1998) "Appendix I:How Many Slaves?" pp.252-263 At the same time the servile "''rimaibe''" population of the Masina Fulbe, roughly equivalent to the ''Bella'', made up between %70 to %80 of the Fulbe population, while servile Songhai groups around Gao made up some 2/3 to 3/4 of the total Songhai population. Klein concludes that roughly %50 of the population of French Soudan at the beginning of the 20th century were in some servile or slave relationship.

Contemporary conditions

While post-independence states have sought to outlaw slavery, results have been mixed. Traditional caste relationships have continued in many places, including the institution of slavery. In some areas, the descendants of those slaves known as the ''Bella'' are still slaves in all but name. In Niger

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