The Inadan, also referred to as Enad or Tinadan, have been one of the historic artisan

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

s in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, particularly among the

Tuareg people The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; Endonym and exonym, endonym, depending on Tuareg languages#Subclassification, variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berbers, Berber ethnic group, ...

. Sometimes referred to as an endogamous caste and sometimes as endogamous marginalized class within the Tuareg, the Inadan are found in

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 ...

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 ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The Inadan have been a part of the Tuareg society that has traditionally featured clan membership, social status and caste hierarchies within each political confederation. These hierarchical systems have included nobles, clerics, craftsmen and unfree strata of people. According to the anthropologist Jeffrey Heath, Tuareg artisans have been a separate endogamous castes known as the ''Inhædˤæn'' (Inadan) within this social stratification. The Inadan live in Tuareg settlements, are sedentary, considered subordinate and lowly, and endogamous because of social taboos towards inter-marriage between their strata and other members of the Tuareg tribe. Their hereditary occupation has been artisanal smith-related work and leather work, but they have diversified into providing labor services such as in tourism in contemporary Tuareg communities. According to Heath, Inadan have included the blacksmith, jewelers, wood workers and leather artisan castes. They produced and repaired the saddles, tools, household items and other items for the Tuareg community. In Niger and Mali, where the largest Tuareg populations are found, the artisan castes were attached as clients to a family of nobles or vassals, and carried messages over distances for their patron family. They also are the ones who traditionally sacrifice animals during Islamic festivals.

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* * * Eike Haberland (1993), Hierarchie und Kaste : zur Geschichte und politischen Struktur der Dizi in Südwest-Äthiopien, Stuttgart : Steiner, (in German) * {{cite journal , last=Todd , first=David M. , title=Caste in Africa? , journal=Africa , publisher=Cambridge University Press , volume=47 , issue=4 , year=1977 , pages=398–412 , doi=10.2307/1158345 , jstor=1158345 Castes Ethnic groups in Niger

See also

References

Bibliography