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126 CHAPTER 3Attaher has said he will never accept the rule of the blacks. He wants the same tobol[rulers] as Bey [ag Akhamouk, amenokal of the Hoggar]. Intalla on the other hand ishappy with the blacks. But Intalla is “nothing”. At present, Attaher wants nothing todo with Intalla. He only wants to work with his son Zeyd. 20In the end, Kel Adagh discussions on who should succeed Attaher wereclosed in Zeyd’s favour, and he was subsequently appointed by the council ofthe Kel Adagh as the new amenokal. It then became clear whose allianceproved the strongest. Zeyd’s support inside and outside the Adagh could notprevent the administration ruling in favour of Intalla, whom they appointed asthe new amenokal, but only unofficially. Whereas his father had held an officialand classified rank, with corresponding remuneration in the colonial administration,Intalla only held an informal position as figurehead and representativebetween the masses and the administration. Administrative meddling in whatthey considered their internal affairs became clear once again to the Kel Adagh.Those in favour of Zeyd would not consent to this situation. Their protest – aprotest against not being heard and against being Malian in the first place – wasbrought home to the Malian Government in a violent way throughout 1963 and1964.At the height of the rebellion, the policy towards the chiefs was at its mostincoherent. Officially, the chieftaincies had been completely dismantled. Neverthelesssome chiefs, still being seen as such by the population, served as mediatorsbetween the army and the rebels. Their mediating task was facilitated bythe army, which equipped them with guns, food and camels to tour the area.Therefore, in 1965 those chiefs who had rendered services during the rebellionwere reinstated.In fact, these auxiliaries of the administration were put aside and therefore provokeddifficulties in the execution of administrative orders toward the population (...) Thedecision to associate these traditional administrative agents has been favourablyreceived by both the concerned chiefs and the population. To the administration thisis a unique occasion to have the chiefs at their side, to educate them and to force theincapable into a real reconversion. 21In January 1967 Commandant de Cercle Diarra went even further, proposingto the Governor in Gao to reinstate Intalla ‘officially at the head of the KelEffele tribe, even if tomorrow a general decision to suppress the chieftaincy willhit him as it will hit others’. 22 Minister of the Interior Madeira Keita blockedDiarra’s proposal, but despite not having an official position as tribal chief,Intalla was referred to as such by the administration and was financially re-202122Regnier, J. 1960, CHEAM 3457:10.Cercle de Kidal, Revue mensuelle des évènements du mois de janvier 1965. ACK.Cdt. Cercle Kidal à Gov. Gao. Kidal, 06/01/1967. ACK.