TheIgdalen (var.:Igdalan,Agdal) are aBerber people inhabiting northwesternNiger and parts ofMali andAlgeria.[1] They speakTagdal, a mixedTuareg–Songhay language. The Igdalen are closely related toIdaksahak people of easternMali and the Sawaq ofIngal in Niger, with whom they share a very similar language. Culturally, the Igdalen are often considered aTuareg faction. In the past they have formed a sub-confederation with the Kel Fadey,Kel Ferwan and others in theKel Ayr Tuareg confederation orDrum Group.[2]
There are an estimated 27,000 Igdalen,[1] and are centered onTanout andTchin Tabaraden in northern Niger, although seasonal transhumance with livestock take them well north and south.[2] Igdalen are Muslim, and have previously been aMarabout (religious) and herding caste within Tuareg society.[2]
The Igdalen do not form a single political or tribal group, but factions are through recent history attached to at least two aristocratic Tuareg tribes. These include theKel FerwanImmuzurag andIkherkheren.[2] In the Ingal area, the Igdalen are divided into two additional tribes, theKel Tofey and theKel Amdit.[2]
The Igdalen are believed to have been among the first Berber people to move into the area, before large Tuareg groups migrated from the 11th to the 16th centuries CE. It is believed that Igdalen came to the Niger river valley from Morocco by the 11th century, moving up towards theAïr Mountains.[3]