Kel Ajjer

Tassili n'Ajjer, nomadic area of the Kel Ajjer

Center: Upper half of the picture right: The Tassili n'Ajjer

Kel Ajjer (also Kel Azjar , Kel Azger ) are a group of Tuareg , nomads who live in the western part of Libya and in southeastern Algeria , for example in the Tassili Tadrart .

Distribution area

The association of these Tuareg includes about 6000 people. According to their origin, the Kel Ajjer are cattle herders and have large grazing grounds. Their distribution area in Algeria is mainly limited to the regions of Ahaggar and Tassili n'Ajjer . There they live as nomads. Its northernmost distribution extends to Tripolitania and the border region of Ghadames ( Eastern Great Erg ), Libya. Other urban centers are Ghat and Ubari . The Kel Ajjer speak a Tamascheq dialect called "Ghat" (or Ghanet , Djanet ).

Colonial times

The first European (French) contacts with the Kel Ajjer go back to 1848. This contact was based on an agreement between a French delegation and Sheikh Othman , an influential leader of the religious tribe of Iforas and Ikhenoukhen , a leader of the Kel Ajjer. Trade agreements were concluded as early as 1862. In the late 1860s, the Kel Ajjer's relations with the French colonial rulers deteriorated. In the period between 1880 and 1900 this led to intense repression against the Kel Ajjer.

Ajjer sub-tribes

Important sub-tribes of the Kel Ajjer are the Urars near Ghat, the Imenan near Djanet , the Arab-descended Imanrassats and the Iforas near Ghadames.

Neighboring Tuareg

Neighbors of the Kel Ajjer in the southwest are the Kel Ahaggar , and in the transition area to the Sahel around the Nigerien Aïr , the Kel Aïr and Kel Ewey - in the direction of the border with Mali around the Adrar des Iforas there are the Kel Adrar and the Kel Iforas .

literature

Edgar Sommer : Kel Tamashek - The Tuareg, Cargo Verlag, Schwülper 2006, ISBN 3-938693-05-3
Thomas Krings : Sahel countries. Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-534-11860-X .

Individual evidence

↑ Edgar Sommer: Kel Tamashek, p. 13 (see lit.)
↑ Long Which: Tamasek
↑ Jeremy Keenan: The Lesser Gods of the Sahara. Social change and contested terrain amongst the Tuareg of Algeria. Cass, London et al. 2004, ISBN 0-7146-5410-8 , pp. 22-23.
↑ s. Krings: Sahel countries. 2006, p. 34 f.

[1] Edgar Sommer: Kel Tamashek, p. 13 (see lit.)

[2] Long Which: Tamasek

[3] Jeremy Keenan: The Lesser Gods of the Sahara. Social change and contested terrain amongst the Tuareg of Algeria. Cass, London et al. 2004, ISBN 0-7146-5410-8 , pp. 22-23.

[4] s. Krings: Sahel countries. 2006, p. 34 f.