The
Toubou (
Old TebuTebu is a language of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Tebu is predominantly spoken in Chad, with two main dialects, Tedaga and Dazaga.- External links :* Ethnologue: * Ethnologue:...
: "Rock People;" also written
Tibu,
Tibbu,
Tebu,
Tubu,
Tebou,
Umbararo) are an
ethnic groupAn ethnic group is a group of humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or presumed.Ethnic identity is further marked by the researcher Seng Yang in the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and the recognition of common cultural,...
that live mainly in northern
ChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, but also in
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
,
NigerNiger , officially the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
and
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
.
The majority of Toubou live in the north of Chad around the
Tibesti mountainsThe Tibesti Mountains are a volcanic group of inactive volcanoes with one potentially active volcano in the central Sahara desert in the Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region of northern Chad. The northern slopes extend a short distance into southern Libya....
(
Old TebuTebu is a language of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Tebu is predominantly spoken in Chad, with two main dialects, Tedaga and Dazaga.- External links :* Ethnologue: * Ethnologue:...
: "Rocky Mountains," whence the Toubou's own name.) Numbering roughly 350,000, they are
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
. Most Toubou are herders and nomads, though many are now semi-nomadic. Their society is clan-based, with each clan having certain oases, pastures and wells. They are divided in two closely-associated people, the
TedaThe teda are a Toubou ethnic group that lives mostly in northern Chad, but is present also in Libya, Niger and Nigeria. They speak Tedaga, a Nilo-Saharan language, and are very close ethnically and culturally with the Daza. They likely number more than 50,000, and are Muslims....
and the
DazaThe Daza people are a semi-nomadic ethnicity living primarily in the Sahara regions of south-eastern Niger and north and central Chad. They consider themselves a warrior people, and are almost entirely Muslim. The Daza speak the Dazaga language. The increasing desertification of Africa has resulted...
.
Many of Chad's leaders have been Toubou, including Presidents
Goukouni OueddeiGoukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad in 1979 and again from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile....
and
Hissène HabréHissène Habré , also spelled Hissen Habré, was the leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.-Early life:Habré was born in 1942 in Faya-Largeau, northern Chad, then a colony of France. He was born into a family of shepards. He is a member of the Anakaza branch of the Gorane ethnic group...
.
Society
Toubou life centers on their
livestockLivestock are one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food or fiber, or labor...
(their major source of wealth and sustenance) and on the scattered
oasesIn geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
where they or their herders cultivate
datesPhoenix dactylifera , commonly known as the Date Palm, is a palm in the genus Phoenix, extensively cultivated for its edible sweet fruit...
and
grainGRAIN is an international non-governmental organization based in Barcelona, Spain, which works toward sustainable agriculture. It was formed upon the realization that the genetic diversity of the world's food crops are being drastically eliminated...
. In a few places, the Toubou (or more often members of the
HaddadThe Haddad are a Sahelian Muslim ethnic group found through Nigeria, Chad and Sudan, numbering more than 250,000 individuals. They live in the midst of other peoples and do not have their own language but speak the language of the surrounding community. The traditional employment of the community...
group who work for them) also mine
saltA salt, in chemistry, is an ionic compound, and can result from the neutralization reaction of acids and bases. Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and
natronNatron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate and about 17% sodium bicarbonate along with small quantities of household salt and sodium sulfate...
, a salt like substance used for medicinal purposes and for livestock.
The Toubou family is made up of parents, children, and another relative or two. Although the husband or father is the head of the household, he rarely makes decisions without consulting his wife. When he is absent, his wife often takes complete charge, moving family tents, changing
pasturePasture is land with low-growing vegetation cover used for grazing of livestock as part of a farm, or in ranching or other unenclosed pastoral systems. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses...
s, and buying and selling
cattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. Although Toubou men may have several wives, few do. Families gather in larger camps during the months of
transhumanceTranshumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock over relatively short distances, typically to higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with the people necessary to tend them...
. Camp membership is fluid, sometimes changing during the season and almost never remaining the same from one season to the next.
After the family, the
clanA clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by actual or perceived descent from a common ancestor. Even if actual lineage patterns are unknown, clan members may nonetheless recognize a founding member or apical ancestor...
is the most stable Toubou institution. Individuals identify with their clan, which has a reputed founder, a name, a symbol, and associated
tabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and forbidden. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. The term comes from the Tongan language, and appears in many Polynesian cultures...
s. Clans enjoy collective priority use of certain palm groves, cultivable land,
springsA spring is any natural occurrence where water flows on to the surface of the earth from below the surface, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.- Formation :...
, and pastures; outsiders may not use these resources without clan permission. Social relations are based on reciprocity, hospitality, and assistance.
TheftIn criminal law, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's freely-given consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting, fraud and sometimes...
and
murderMurder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
within the clan are forbidden, and stolen animals must be returned.
Within the overall context of clan identity, however, Toubou society is shaped by the individual. Jean Chapelle, a well-known observer of Chadian societies, notes that "it is not society that forms the individual, but the individual who constructs the society most useful" for him or her. Three features of Toubou social structure make this process possible. The first is residence. In general, clan members are scattered throughout a region; therefore, an individual is likely to find hospitable clans people in most settlements or camps of any size. A second factor is the maintenance of ties with the maternal clan. Although the maternal clan does not occupy the central place of the potential clan, it provides another universe of potential ties.
MarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
creates a third set of individual options. Although relatives and the immediate family influence decisions about a marriage partner, individual preference is recognized as important. In addition, once a marriage is contracted between individuals of two clans, other clan members are forbidden to change it. The Toubou proscribe marriage with any blood relative less than four generations removed - in the words of the Toubou recorded by Chapelle, "when there are only three grandfathers."
The ownership of land, animals, and resources takes several forms. Within an oasis or settled zone belonging to a particular clan, land, trees (usually date palms), and nearby
wellA water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
s may have different owners. Each family's rights to the use of particular plots of land are recognized by other clan members. Families also may have privileged access to certain wells and the right to a part of the
harvestIn agriculture, the harvest is the processes of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. The harvest marks the end of the growing season, or the growing cycle for a particular crop, and this is the...
from the fields irrigated by their
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
. Within the clan and family contexts, individuals also may have personal claims to palm trees and animals. Toubou legal customs are based on restitution, indemnification, and revenge. Conflicts are resolved in several settings. Murder, for example, is settled directly between the families of the victim and the murderer. Toubou honor requires that someone from the victim's family try to kill the murderer or a relative; such efforts eventually end with negotiations to settle the matter. Reconciliation follows the payment of the
goroga, or blood price, usually in the form of
camelCamels are even-toed ungulates within the genus Camelus. The dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the Bactrian camel has two humps. They are native to the dry desert areas of western Asia, and central and east Asia, respectively...
s.
Despite shared linguistic heritage, few institutions among the Toubou generate a broader sense of identity than the clan. Regional divisions do exist, however. During the colonial period (and since independence in 1960), Chadian administrations have conferred legality and legitimacy on these regional groupings by dividing the Toubou and Daza regions into corresponding territorial units called
cantonA canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared to other administrative divisions such as counties, departments or provinces. Internationally the best-known cantons, and the most politically...
s and appointing chiefs to administer them.
Only among the Teda of the Tibesti region have institutions evolved somewhat differently. Since the end of the 16th century, the
derdeThe derde is the title held by the highest religious and political authority among the Toubou Teda of the Tibesti, in north-western Chad. He is elected among the three most prominent families of the Tomagra clan, and at the death of the derde the title never passes to the son of the deceased, but...
(spiritual head) of the Tomagra clan has exercised authority over part of the
massifThe Tibesti Mountains are a volcanic group of inactive volcanoes with one potentially active volcano in the central Sahara desert in the Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region of northern Chad. The northern slopes extend a short distance into southern Libya....
and the other clans who live there. He is selected by a group of electors according to strict rules. The
derde exercises judicial rather than executive power, arbitrating conflict and levying sanctions based on a code of compensations.
During the civil conflict in Chad (1966–1993), the
derdeThe derde is the title held by the highest religious and political authority among the Toubou Teda of the Tibesti, in north-western Chad. He is elected among the three most prominent families of the Tomagra clan, and at the death of the derde the title never passes to the son of the deceased, but...
came to occupy a more important position. In 1965 the Chadian government assumed direct authority over the Tibesti Mountains, sending a military garrison and administrators to
BardaïBardaï is a small town and oasis in the extreme north of Chad, the main town of the Tibesti area, one of the four departments of the Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region....
, the capital of Tibesti Subprefecture. Within a year, abuses of authority had roused considerable opposition among the Toubou. The
derde,
Oueddei KichidemiOueddei Kichidemi was the father of the former Chadian President Goukouni Oueddei and was the tribal leader, or derde, of the Toubou Teda of the Tibesti during the Chadian Civil War....
, recognized but little respected up to that time, protested the excesses, went into exile in
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
, and, with the support of Toubou students at the Islamic University of
Al BaydaAz Zawiya Al Bayda , and was known Beda Littoria under the Italian occupation, is a city in northeast Libya, 200 km east of Benghazi. Initially known as Sidi Rafaa...
, became a symbol of opposition to the Chadian government. This role enhanced the position of the derde among the Toubou. After 1967 the
derde hoped to rally the Toubou to the National Liberation Front of Chad (FROLINAT). Moral authority became military authority shortly thereafter when his son,
Goukouni OueddeiGoukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad in 1979 and again from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile....
, became one of the leaders of the Second Liberation Army of FROLINAT. Goukouni was to become a national figure; he played an important role in the battles of N'Djamena in 1979 and 1980 and served as head of state for a time. Another northerner, Hissène Habré of the Daza
AnakazaThe Anakaza are a Chadian subgroup of the Toubou Daza ethnic group. One of the largest of Daza subgroups, they are a nomadic people traditionally employed in camel-herding. They are mostly located in the Saharan region of Borkou in northern Chad, they can be found in a vast area from Faya-Largeau...
, replaced Goukouni in 1982, and lost eventually power to Idriss Dédy, a
ZaghawaThe Zaghawa are an African ethnic group or tribe, mainly living in eastern Chad and western Sudan, including the Darfur province of Sudan....
.
Teda and Daza
The Toubou are subdivided in two separate people, the
TedaThe teda are a Toubou ethnic group that lives mostly in northern Chad, but is present also in Libya, Niger and Nigeria. They speak Tedaga, a Nilo-Saharan language, and are very close ethnically and culturally with the Daza. They likely number more than 50,000, and are Muslims....
and
DazaThe Daza people are a semi-nomadic ethnicity living primarily in the Sahara regions of south-eastern Niger and north and central Chad. They consider themselves a warrior people, and are almost entirely Muslim. The Daza speak the Dazaga language. The increasing desertification of Africa has resulted...
. They are believed to share a common origin, but speak now two distinct if clearly associated languages,
TedagaTedaga language is a language which belongs to the Saharan subfamily of the Nilo-Saharan, spoken in northern Chad and eastern Niger by the Teda ethnic group....
(Téda Toubou) and
DazagaDazaga, also known as Goran , is a language spoken in the Djurab desert region of Chad by the Daza people, and is part of the Saharan branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. It is said to have about 312,000 speakers. It is closely associated with the Tedaga language, spoken by the Teda, the...
(Daza Toubou). Of the two the Daza are the numerous, being 312,000 persons, while the Teda are only 42,000.
Among the
TedaThe teda are a Toubou ethnic group that lives mostly in northern Chad, but is present also in Libya, Niger and Nigeria. They speak Tedaga, a Nilo-Saharan language, and are very close ethnically and culturally with the Daza. They likely number more than 50,000, and are Muslims....
, there are four regional subgroups, the Teda of Tibesti
SubprefectureSubprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province.-Albania:There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is subdivided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures.-Brazil:...
being the largest. There are more than a dozen subgroups of
DazaThe Daza people are a semi-nomadic ethnicity living primarily in the Sahara regions of south-eastern Niger and north and central Chad. They consider themselves a warrior people, and are almost entirely Muslim. The Daza speak the Dazaga language. The increasing desertification of Africa has resulted...
: the Kreda of Bahr el Ghazal are the largest; next in importance are the Daza of
Kanem PrefectureThis article refers to one of the former prefectures of Chad. From 2002 the country was divided into 18 regions.Kanem was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the west of the country, Kanem covered an area of 114,520 square kilometers and had a population of 279,927 in 1993. Its capital...
.