The Igdalen (var.: Igdalan, Agdal) are a

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

people inhabiting northwestern

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

and parts of

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

.Tagdal A language of Niger
in Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/. They speak Tagdal, a mixed

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

– Songhay language. The Igdalen are closely related to Idaksahak people of eastern

and the Sawaq of Ingal in Niger, with whom they share a very similar language. Culturally, the Igdalen are often considered a

faction. In the past they have formed a sub-confederation with the Kel Fadey, Kel Ferwan and others in the

Kel Ayr Kel Ayr (also spelled Kel Aïr) was a semi-nomadic Tuareg tribal confederation. It ruled an area centered on the Aïr Mountains (Aïr Massif) in what is today Niger. Forming sometime after the 11th century CE, the Kel Ayr were one of the earlier Tu ...

Tuareg confederation or ''Drum Group''.Edmond Bernus, Suzanne Bernus
Du sel et des dattes: introduction à l'étude de la communauté d'In Gall et de Tegidda-n-tesemt
''Etudes Nigeriennes'', 31. Centre nigérien de recherches en sciences humaines, 1972. OCLC 248836480 There are an estimated 27,000 Igdalen, and are centered on Tanout and Tchin Tabaraden in northern Niger, although seasonal transhumance with livestock take them well north and south. Igdalen are Muslim, and have previously been a

Marabout In the Muslim world, the marabout () is a Sayyid, descendant of Muhammad (Arabic: سـيّد, Romanization of Arabic, romanized: ''sayyid'' and ''sidi'' in the Maghreb) and a Islam, Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the f ...

(religious) and herding caste within Tuareg society. The Igdalen do not form a single political or tribal group, but factions are through recent history attached to at least two aristocratic Tuareg tribes. These include the Kel Ferwan ''Immuzurag'' and ''Ikherkheren''. In the Ingal area, the Igdalen are divided into two additional tribes, the ''Kel Tofey'' and the ''Kel Amdit''. The Igdalen are believed to have been among the first Berber people to move into the area, before large Tuareg groups migrated from the 11th to the 16th centuries CE. It is believed that Igdalen came to the Niger river valley from Morocco by the 11th century, moving up towards the

Aïr Mountains The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif (Air Tamajeq language, Tamajăq: ''Ayǝr''; Hausa language, Hausa: Eastern ''Azbin'', Western ''Abzin'') is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara. Part of the West Sa ...

.James Stuart Olson. 'Igdalen' in ''The peoples of Africa: an ethnohistorical dictionary''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996 p. 238

References

*Regula Christiansen-Boll
''A Grammar of Tadaksahak, a Northern Songhay Language of Mali''
Leiden University Centre for Linguistics. (31 March 2010). *Cyffer, Norbert (Ed) (2000). Michael J Rueck; Niels Christiansen. "Northern Songhay languages in Mali and Niger, a sociolinguistic survey". in ''Trends in Nilo-Saharan linguistics: proceedings of the 7th Nilo-Saharan linguistics conference'', Vienna, Austria, 2–6 September 1998. Cologne : Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. {{authority control Berbers in Algeria Berbers in Mali Berbers in Niger Ethnic groups in Mali Ethnic groups in Niger Tuareg

See also

References