Aligurran, also called Anigouran, is the sage and trickster of a widespread cycle of Tuareg tales built around an uncle and his gifted nephew. Never resorting to weapons, he prevails by cunning alone, and popular belief makes him the author of the enigmatic engravings and Libyco-Berber inscriptions scattered across the Saharan rock, explaining the now-unreadable ancient Tifinagh as a script he deliberately complicated to test his nephew. He functions in the oral literature as a social archetype, a measure of wit, foresight and the proper conduct of elders.