Power and Wealth are Cousins: Descent, Class and Marital Strategies among the Kel Ahaggar (Tuareg—Sahara)

Abstract

The Tuareg are Berber-speaking ‘semi-nomadic pastoralists’. The Northern Tuareg, comprising the Kel Ahaggar and Kel Ajjer, inhabit the Central Saharan massifs of Ahaggar and Ajjer in Southern Algeria. The Southern Tuareg, namely the Kel Adrar, Kel Ayr, Kel Gress, Kel Tadamakat, Iwllemmeden, etc., are found throughout much of Mali and Niger. Each of these groups constitutes a separate, independent federation. This paper is concerned with the Kel Ahaggar who number about 5000–6000.