The Ikelan (Éklan/Ikelan or Ibenheren in Tamasheq; Bouzou in Hausa; Bella in Songhai; singular Akli) are a caste within Tuareg society, who were at one time slaves or servile communities in their native lands like Mauritania, Mali and Niger.

The Ikelan's situation is somewhat analogous to that of the Haratin within Maure society in Mauritania. Like the Haratin, the name "Ikelan", and to a much greater degree Bouzou and Bella, are exonyms (a name not used by that people themselves) with negative connotations. Historically the term "Ikelan" has been used to refer to the slaves of the Tuareg. Moreover, while they now speak the same language as Tuareg nobles, they are possibly of assimilated origin from other local neighbouring communities.

The Tuareg people have in the past had a highly socially stratified society, with specific social roles (warriors, religious leaders) or professions (blacksmiths, farmers, merchants) assigned to specific castes. The tiny aristocratic caste of warrior elite which once sat atop a pyramid of Tuareg society was decimated during the wars of the colonial period, and this, along with economic necessity, post-colonial border restrictions, and modern education, have broken down many traditional caste barriers.

Tuareg higher caste traditions value a nomadic life, warfare, study, animal husbandry, and trade. Consequently, higher caste communities travel, at least seasonally, if able. Lower caste groups, not limited to the Ikelan, are more likely to live in settled communities, either in Sahara oasis towns or in villages scattered among other ethnic groups in the Sahel region to the south.

As the Tuareg moved south on the continent in the 11th century AD, they took slaves as prisoners of war. Most slaves were taken from adjacent populations, as well from rival Tuareg Kels (tribal confederations). These éklan once formed a distinct social class in Tuareg society.

Servile groups came in two forms: domestic slaves lived near their owners as domestic servants and herders, and functioned as part of the family, with close social interactions. Additionally, entire communities became servile to aristocratic tribes, conquered in situ, formed by migration of Ikelan families or even other ethnic groups moving into Tuareg controlled communities seeking protection. Sometimes members of rival Kels, defeated in war, were subsumed as lower castes, but usually of higher level than the Ikelan.

Servile farming or salt extraction communities, somewhat analogous to European serfs were gradually assimilated into Tuareg culture, maintained Tuaregs herders during their annual transhumance cycle, or provided trade or farming centers for Tuareg clans. Prior to the 20th century, the Tuareg captured most individual slaves during raids into other communities and in war. War was then the main source of supply of slaves, although many were bought at slave markets, run mostly by indigenous peoples.

Some Tuareg noble and vassal men married slaves, and their children became freemen. In this sense, éklan formed distinct subsections of a family: "fictive children." Entire Ikelan communities, on the other hand were a class held in an inherited serf-like condition, common among some societies in pre-colonial West Africa, and often having little interaction with "their" nobles though most of the year.