Toubou
Encyclopedia
The Tubu are an ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...

 that live mainly in northern Chad
Chad
Chad , 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 Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named 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 Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

.

The majority of Toubou live in the north of Chad around the Tibesti mountains
Tibesti Mountains
The Tibesti Mountains are a range of inactive volcanoes located on the northern edge of the Chad Basin in the Borkou- and Tibesti Region of northern Chad. The massif is one of the most prominent features of the Central-Sahara desert and covers an area of approximately 100,000 km². The northern...

 (Old Tebu
Tebu language
Tebu is a language of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Tebu is predominantly spoken in Chad and southern Libya by about 380,000 people, with two main dialects, Tedaga, spoken by about 49,000 people and Dazaga, spoken by about 331,000 people .- External links :* Ethnologue: * Ethnologue:...

: "Rocky Mountains," whence the Toubou's own name.) Numbering roughly 350,000, they are mostly Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

. 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 Teda and the Daza
Daza
The 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 Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile.-Biography:...

, Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré
Hissène Habré , also spelled Hissen Habré, was the leader of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.-Early life:...

 and Idriss Déby
Idriss Déby
General Idriss Déby Itno is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006.-Rise to power:...

.

Society

Toubou life centers on their livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 (their major source of wealth and sustenance) and on the scattered oases
Oasis
In 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 dates
Date Palm
The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...

 and grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...

. In a few places, the Toubou (or more often members of the Haddad
Haddad (ethnic group)
The 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 salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

 and natron
Natron
Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate and about 17% sodium bicarbonate along with small quantities of household salt and sodium sulfate. Natron is white to colourless when pure, varying to gray or yellow with impurities...

, 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 pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...

s, and buying and selling cattle
Cattle
Cattle 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 transhumance
Transhumance
Transhumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with...

. 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 clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...

 is the most stable Toubou institution. Individuals identify with their clan, which has a reputed founder, a name, a symbol, and associated taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...

s. Clans enjoy collective priority use of certain palm groves, cultivable land, springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

, and pastures; outsiders may not use these resources without clan permission. Social relations are based on reciprocity, hospitality, and assistance. Theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...

 and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, 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.

Marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 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 well
Water well
A 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 trash 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 harvest
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...

 from the fields irrigated by their water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

. 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 camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...

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 canton
Canton (subnational entity)
A 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 derde
Derde
The derde is the title held by the highest religious and political authority among the Toubou Teda of the Tibesti, in north-western Chad...

(spiritual head) of the Tomagra clan has exercised authority over part of the massif
Tibesti Mountains
The Tibesti Mountains are a range of inactive volcanoes located on the northern edge of the Chad Basin in the Borkou- and Tibesti Region of northern Chad. The massif is one of the most prominent features of the Central-Sahara desert and covers an area of approximately 100,000 km². The northern...

 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.

In Chad

During the civil conflict in Chad (1966–1993), the derde
Derde
The derde is the title held by the highest religious and political authority among the Toubou Teda of the Tibesti, in north-western Chad...

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 Bardaï
Bardai, Chad
Bardaï is a small town and oasis in the extreme north of Chad. It is the main town of the Tibesti Region, which was formed in 2008 from the Tibesti Department of the former 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 Kichidemi
Oueddei Kichidemi
Oueddei 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 Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

, and, with the support of Toubou students at the Islamic University of Bayda, 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 Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei
Goukouni Oueddei is a Chadian political figure. He was Head of State of Chad from 1979 to 1982. He is currently in exile.-Biography:...

, 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 Anakaza
Anakaza
The Anakaza are a Chadian tribe of the Toubou Daza people. 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 to...

, replaced Goukouni in 1982, and lost eventually power to Idriss Dédy, a Zaghawa.

In Libya

The Toubou minority in Libya suffered persecution under the Gaddafi regime. In a report released by the UNHCR, the Society for Threatened Peoples
Society for Threatened Peoples
Society for Threatened Peoples is an international NGO and human rights organization based in Göttingen, Germany. It seeks to create awareness of and protect minority peoples around the world who are threatened by oppressive governments. The group states on its website that it "campaigns against...

 (STP) reported "massive discrimination" against the Toubou minority, which resides in the southeastern corner of the country around the oasis town of Kufra
Kufra
Kufra is a basin and oasis group in Al Kufrah District, southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. Kufra is historically important above all because at the end of nineteenth century it became the center and holy place of the Senussi order...

. In December 2007, the Gaddafi government stripped Toubou Libyans of their citizenship, claiming that they were not Libyans, but rather Chadians. In addition, local authorities denied Toubou people access to education and healthcare. In response, an armed group called the Front for the Salvation of Toubou Libyans staged an uprising in November 2008 which lasted for five days and claimed 33 lives before being crushed by government security forces. Despite resistance and public condemnation, the Gaddafi regime continued its persecution of the Toubou minority in Libya. Beginning in November 2009, the government began a program of forced eviction and demolition of Toubou homes, rendering many Toubou homeless. Several dozen who protested the destruction were arrested, and families who refused to leave their homes were beaten.

In the 2011 Libyan civil war
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...

, Toubou tribespeople in Libya sided with the rebel anti-Gaddafi forces
Anti-Gaddafi forces
The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. These opposition forces included organised and armed militia groups, participants in the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libyan diplomats who switched their...

 and participated in the Southern Libyan Desert campaign against forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...

, briefly capturing the town of Al Qatrun
Al Qatrun
Qatrun, Al Katrun, Gatrone, or Al Gatrun is a village in the Murzuq District in southern Libya on the main road to Chad and Niger. It has a filling station and a Niger consulate office is located there...

 and claiming to capture Murzuk
Murzuk
Murzuk is an oasis town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan region of southwest Libya. Murzuk lies on the northern edge of the Murzuq Desert, a desert of ergs or great sand dunes, and section of the Sahara Desert.-History:...

 for the rebel movement a month later.

Teda and Daza

The Toubou are subdivided in two separate people, the Teda
Teda
The Teda are a Toubou people who live 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 Daza
Daza
The 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, Tedaga
Tedaga language
The Teda language, Tedaga, belongs to the Saharan subfamily of the Nilo-Saharan, spoken in northern Chad and eastern Niger by the Teda people....

 (Téda Toubou) and Dazaga
Dazaga language
The Daza language, Dazaga, 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...

 (Daza Toubou). Of the two the Daza are the most numerous, being 312,000 persons, while the Teda are only 42,000.

Among the Teda
Teda
The Teda are a Toubou people who live 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 Subprefecture
Subprefecture
Subprefecture 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 Daza
Daza
The 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
Bahr el Ghazal
The Bahr el Ghazal is a region of western South Sudan. Its name comes from the river Bahr el Ghazal.- Geography :The region consists of the states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, and Warrap. It borders Central African Republic to the west...

 are the largest; next in importance are the Daza of Kanem Prefecture
Kanem Prefecture
This 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...

.
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