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.