Amenukal ( Berber: ⵎⵏⴾⵍ, ⴰⵎⵏⵓⴽⴰⵍ) is a title for the highest Tuareg traditional chiefs; the paramount confederation leader.
History
Prior to the colonial period in the Maghreb and Sahel, the nomadic Tuareg federations chose a chief from among the wise men of their tribes to rule these confederacies.
- In what is now Algeria, an Amenokal was at the head of the Kel Ahaggar Tuareg confederation since its establishment ( c. 1750). It was maintained under colonial French suzerainty since 1903 but no longer recognized after the Algerian independence. It was finally abolished in 1977.
- In the northern mountains of what is now Niger, in the early 15th century, a state called Aïr was founded by the Tuareg confederation there, under an amenokal, who was also designated by the Arabic Muslim title Sultan; hence, it is also called a Berber sultanate.
According to tradition, the first Tuareg chief was a woman, Tin Hinan, the founder of the Ahaggar community. Her monumental tomb is located at Abalessa in the Hoggar region.
Sources and references
- Ilahiane, Historical Dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen), The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Amenukal ( Berber: ⵎⵏⴾⵍ, ⴰⵎⵏⵓⴽⴰⵍ) is a title for the highest Tuareg traditional chiefs; the paramount confederation leader.
History
Prior to the colonial period in the Maghreb and Sahel, the nomadic Tuareg federations chose a chief from among the wise men of their tribes to rule these confederacies.
- In what is now Algeria, an Amenokal was at the head of the Kel Ahaggar Tuareg confederation since its establishment ( c. 1750). It was maintained under colonial French suzerainty since 1903 but no longer recognized after the Algerian independence. It was finally abolished in 1977.
- In the northern mountains of what is now Niger, in the early 15th century, a state called Aïr was founded by the Tuareg confederation there, under an amenokal, who was also designated by the Arabic Muslim title Sultan; hence, it is also called a Berber sultanate.
According to tradition, the first Tuareg chief was a woman, Tin Hinan, the founder of the Ahaggar community. Her monumental tomb is located at Abalessa in the Hoggar region.
Sources and references
- Ilahiane, Historical Dictionary of the Berbers (Imazighen), The Scarecrow Press, Inc.