The Dawsahak people, ''Idaksahak'' (var.: ''Daoussahak'',Edmond Bernus (ed.). Art of being Tuareg: Sahara nomads in a modern world. Indiana University Press (2006) p.291Jeffrey Heath. A grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali), Volume 35 of Mouton grammar library. Walter de Gruyter, (2005) p.9 ''Dahoussahak'',Catherine Taine-Cheikh. es langues parlées au sud Sahara et au nord Sahel http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00456346/ De l'Atlantique à l'Ennedi (Catalogue de l'exposition « Sahara-Sahel »), Centre Culturel Français d'Abidjan (Ed.) (1989) 155-173 ''Dausahaq, Daosahaq, Daoussahaq, Daoussak, Dawsahaq'') are pastoralist
Berbers
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
centered on
Ménaka
Ménaka ( Berber: ⵎⵏⴾⴰ) is a town and urban commune in Ménaka Cercle and Ménaka Region in eastern Mali. It is the seat and the largest town in the ''cercle'' and region. The town is set amidst the rocky outcrops of the Ader Douchi hill ...
Talataye
Talataye is a village and rural commune in the Cercle of Ansongo in the Gao Region of south-eastern Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maal ...
in
Ansongo Cercle
Ansongo Cercle is an administrative subdivision of the Gao Region of Mali. The administrative center (''chef-lieu'') is the town of Ansongo. The Niger River passes through the ''cercle'' and plays an important role in transportation and the eco ...
of the
Gao Region
The Gao Region ( Bambara: ߜߊߏ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Gao Dineja) is a region in northeastern Mali. The capital city is Gao.
Geography
The region is bordered to the north by Kidal Region, to the west by Tombouctou Region and Taoudénit Region, to ...
of northeastern
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
Tuareg language
The Tuareg () languages constitute a group of closely related Berber languages and dialects. They are spoken by the Tuareg Berbers in large parts of Mali, Niger, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso, with a few speakers, the ''Kinnin'', in Chad.
Des ...
of southern Gao.Michael J Rueck; Niels Christiansen Northern Songhay languages in Mali and Niger, a sociolinguistic survey Summer Institute of Linguistics (1999). ''Daoussahak'' appears to be the most common transliteration of the collective name among French and English academics.
History
The Idaksahak are a former dependent faction of local
Tuareg
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...
Iwellemmeden, formerly serving as ''maraboutic'' (religious experts) and livestock minders for higher caste Tuareg factions. Despite this history, they predated the Tuareg in the region, and even the
Songhay Empire
The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...
, from which they took their language. They are still sometimes referred to as a ''tewsit'' (clan) of the Iwellemmeden Tuareg. The Idaksahak, like the related Igdalan "were among the first Berbers to migrate to sub-Saharan Africa, sometime between the 8th and 9th centuries" and were among the first Muslim groups in the area.
The Daoussahak remained detached from, and sometimes in conflict with, French colonial rule as late as the 1950s. They were among the first of the rebels who rose against the Malian government in the 1963-64 rebellion, an insurgency which was met with brutal suppression across the north of the country. Daoussahak men also formed armed groups during the 1990s rebellion. The
Popular Liberation Front of Azawad The Popular Liberation Front of Azawad (in French language, French: ''Front Populaire de Libération de l'Azawad'') was one of several militant rebel groups active during the Tuareg Rebellion (1990–1995), Tuareg Rebellion in northern Mali from 19 ...
(1991-1993) and the later splinter group the
National Liberation Front of Azawad
The Arab Movement of Azawad ( ar, الحركة العربية الأزوادية, french: link=no, Mouvement arabe de l’Azawad; MAA) is an Arab military organization active in Azawad/northern Mali. Initially known as the National Liberation Fro ...
(1993) contained fighters drawn from the Daoussahak, the later being majority Daoussahak.
Daoussahak livestock raiding and conflict with rival
Fula
Fula may refer to:
*Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe)
*Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani)
**The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language
**The Fula variety known as the Pular language
**The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde
*Al-Fula ...
pastoralists and farmers continues today, with occasional armed conflict over land, grazing, water, and animals periodically spilling over into the
Ouallam Department
Ouallam is a department of the Tillabéri Region in Niger. Its capital lies at the city of Oullam, which is designated an Urban Commune. The department also includes the Rural Communes of Simiri and Tondikiwindi, as well as the towns of Bani ...
of
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesLe Niger veut sécuriser sa frontière avec le Mali, théâtre de banditisme armé APA, 6 September 2008.
Pastoralism
They now include both sedentary pastoralists and town dwellers, as well as seasonally nomadic pastoralists, herding cattle, goats, and camels from Mali through southern
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesTranshumance
Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...
patterns continue to take them northeast into the area of Niger inhabited by the
Igdalen The Igdalen (var.: Igdalan, Agdal) are a Berber people inhabiting northwestern Niger and parts of Mali and Algeria.Isawaghan: sedentary Northern Songhay speakers of
Ingal
In-Gall (var. In Gall, I-n-Gall, In-Gal, Ingal, Ingall) is a town in the Agadez Region, Tchirozerine Department of northeast Niger, with a year-round population of less than 500. Known for its oasis and salt flats, In-Gall is the gathering po ...
Niger. The Idaksahak also have a history of transhumance patterns to the southeast, taking them into what is now the
Ouallam Ouallam is a town around 90 km north of Niamey in southwestern Niger. It is the capital of Ouallam Department, one of four departments in the Tillabéri Region.
Culture
Historically centered in the lands of the Djerma people, Ouallam has impo ...
area of
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages One study suggested that of North Songhay speaking communities, the Idaksahak are closest to Tuareg. While culturally similar, Igdalan do not intermarry with Tuareg, while Idaksahak intermarry with both communities. The name ''i-dáksahak'' means "sons of Issac". The Idaksahak are
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, although many maintain pre-Islamic beliefs and practices. In Menaka and Ansongo, the Idaksahak live amongst populations of the Igdalan, the Kel Essouk Tuareg, Ihatan Songhay, and Berberiche Arab factions.
See also
*
Tadaksahak language
Tadaksahak (also ''Daoussahak, Dausahaq'' and other spellings, after the Tuareg name for its speakers, ''Dăwsăhak'') is a Songhay language spoken by the pastoralist Idaksahak of the Gao Region of Mali. Its phonology, verb morphology and voca ...
*
Tuareg
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...
References
*Regula Christiansen-Boll A Grammar of Tadaksahak, a Northern Songhay Language of Mali Leiden University Centre for Linguistics. (31 March 2010).
* Cyffer, Norbert (Ed) (2000). Michael J Rueck; Niels Christiansen. Northern Songhay languages in Mali and Niger, a sociolinguistic survey. in Trends in Nilo-Saharan linguistics: proceedings of the 7th Nilo-Saharan linguistics conference, Vienna, Austria, 2–6 September 1998. Cologne : Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.