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REVOLUTION: TESHUMARA AND TANEKRA 227Keyni: Absolutely, only between the Tuareg and the blacks .74Egha is first of all an emotion, or rather a complex set of emotions. Theseemotions arise from the perceived inability to counter an act against one’s dignityand honour. When an attack against one’s honour can be immediatelycountered, egha does not arise. The sentiment of egha can be individual in thecase of an attack against oneself. But egha can also be felt, or be made felt,collectively in the case of an attack against a group or an attack against amember of the group that is felt as damaging the group. Egha comprises shameabout having lost face or respect, powerlessness towards the perpetrator, andhatred for the perpetrator. 75 So far, the concept of egha does not deviate fromcommon ideas in the anthropology of honour or the role of revenge. It is a wayto uphold or restore honour. But egha can be disconnected from honour. In adisconnected perception, crucial to understanding the role and use of egha inthe two Tamasheq rebellions, egha only means powerlessness, the restoration ofpower, and hatred. Let me present an al-guitara song that explicitly deals withAlfellaga, the rebellion of 1963:Nineteen sixty-three came, and goes onIts days came, leaving memoriesIt crossed wadis, killing cattleIt killed the elderly and newborn childrenThe brave men diedUntil no one we knew was leftOnly graveyards and loneliness came of it 76The opening verse of the song is the most crucial: Nineteen sixty-threecame, and goes on. The verse links the events of Alfellaga directly to themoment of composition. What goes on is not the fighting, but the memories itinvoked, mentioned in line two. The rest of the poem is dedicated to what thesememories essentially are: The death of loved ones. What the poem does notinvoke is honour. Although many other poems implicitly appeal to the honourof the Kel Tamasheq community, not one does so explicitly. Most poems dealwith a situation of powerlessness, the wish to regain control over the future ofTamasheq existence through revolutionary action and a hatred for those whohave taken away the capacity to control existence.We are mangled between the Arabs and the WestBut even more so by Mali against whom we fight747576Interview with Keyni ag Sherif. Kidal, 25/05/1999.This is almost ad verbatim the explanation given to me by Mohamed Lamine agMohamed Fall during one of our many conversations.Part of the lyrics of Soixante-trois (1963). Cheick ag Aoussa, Lebanon, 1982. Availableon: Tinariwen, 2007. Aman Iman. World Village, 468067.