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140 CHAPTER 3Officially the new tax rates on livestock were effective on 1 January 1962,but they came into effect in the 1963 budget. The rise of the cattle tax in 1963has been put forward as the main explanation for the 1963 revolt in the Adagh.Nomadic existence is hit hard by an increase in cattle tax, as livestock is notonly a source of income but also a means of production. Let us look at thefigures available. Indeed, theoretically, when the cattle tax increase came intoeffect, the amount of tax paid should rise dramatically. Per head, the tax oncattle rose 150%, on donkeys 100%, on horses 33%, on camels a huge 207%,and on sheep and goats again 100%. The dramatic effect of this increase wasgreatly enhanced by coming after years of stability since the small increase in1956. However, there are several reasons why I would like to refute the ideathat the tax increase, even when it came in exactly the right year – 1963 – wasthe primary reason for revolt in the Adagh. On the basis of Tables 3.1 to 3.3, Ihave calculated the number of animals (by species) per taxable head of thepopulation in the various Cercles of the North, and the average amount of taxthey should pay in sum for their herd in 1963. These figures are presented inTable 3.4. It is clear that the tax on camels rose most spectacularly, and despitethe fact that in Kidal the amount of cattle tax to be paid was among the highestin the Région, we cannot say the Kel Adagh were hit the hardest by the taxincrease. The Cercle of Kidal ranks third in the classification of possible tax revenues.Stockbreeders in Gourma Rharous and Ménaka especially, had to payeven more. Their considerably higher average number of cattle per capita partlymade up for their lower numbers of camels, which in Ménaka was not muchlower than in Kidal in the first place. Despite being hit less hard than Kidal, theCercle of Ansongo still shows a dramatically higher amount of cattle tax to bepaid than the last five Cercles: Bourem, Diré, Goundam, Gao and Timbuktu.Yet, the Kel Tamasheq and other stockbreeders in these three hard hit Cercles –Ansongo, Rharous and Ménaka – did not rise in revolt. Second, the total amountof cattle in the entire North amounted to 513,748 head. The total amount ofcattle in all of Mali advanced by Cissé was 4,200,000. 65 Hence, only 12% of allcattle could be found in the North. The vast majority of Malian cattle herdscould be found in the Région of Mopti. If the tax increase was a strong reason torevolt against the Government, certainly, the hardest resistance would be foundin this area, where a large part of the population was also largely dependent onlivestock for its existence, unless, of course, this population had a strongersense of civic duty and loyalty to the tax-imposing state. The third and perhapsstrongest argument against tax increase being the main incentive for revolt inthe Adagh can be found in a poem:65Cissé, M.N. 1964, CHEAM 3935.