The
Iwellemmedan (
Iwəlləmədǎn), also spelled
Iullemmeden,
Aulliminden,
Ouilliminden,
Lullemmeden, and
Iwellemmeden, are one of the seven major
Tuareg tribal or clan confederations (called "
Drum groups"). Their communities, historically nomadic and intermixed with other ethnic groups are found in an arc from east and north central Mali, through the
Azawagh valley into northwestern
Niger and south into northern
Nigeria. While once a single confederation of dozens of Tuareg clans, subject peoples, and allied groups, since the 18th century they are divided into
Kel Ataram (west) and
Kel Dinnik (east) confederations. Following colonial rule and independence, the Iwellemmedan homelands cross the Mali/Niger border, and their traditional seasonal migration routes have spread Iwellemmedan communities into
Burkina Faso and
Nigeria as well. They speak the
Tawellemmet variant of the
Tamasheq language, although some current or historical sub-clans speak other Tamasheq variants as well as Songhai languages and Arabic dialects.