People & languages
A mosaic
of voices.
This selection opens a door onto stories, languages and skills that continue to shape the country. No recent census publishes an official list of groups.
Population shares follow the 2014–2015 EDS-MICS survey, not the last census (RGPH 2009). Other people, smaller or listed as “other”, also have a portrait here.
27 page(s) shown
South and Mayo-Kebbi
South: Chari, Logone, Moyen-Chari, Mandoul
Sara
The country’s largest cluster, sedentary farmers, with a strong oral tradition.
Southwest: Logone, Mayo-Kebbi, banks of the Logone
Masa / Musey / Musgum
Farmer-fishers of the Logone, known for Musgum shell-houses and river dances.
Tandjilé and the Logone valley
Marba / Lele / Mesme
Farmers and fishers of Tandjilé, with a dense oral tradition.
East Mayo-Kebbi, Cameroon border
Mundang
Agricultural society of Mayo-Kebbi, between Christianity, Islam and older religions.
East Mayo-Kebbi, around Fianga and Gounou-Gaya
Tupuri / Kera
Farmers of Mayo-Kebbi, known for masked dances and wooden masks.
Tandjilé and West Logone
Gabri / Nanchere / Somrai
People of Tandjilé, subsistence farming, myths and flutes.
East Logone and Mandoul
Karo / Zime / Peve
Farmers of the humid savanna, fertility songs and basketry.
East Logone, toward the CAR and Cameroon borders
Mbum / Laka
Farmers of the southwest, culturally distinct from the Sara, also present in Cameroon.
Lake Chad and Kanem
Kanem, Lac, Hadjer-Lamis
Kanembu / Bornu
Heirs of the Kanem-Bornu empire, long Islamised, trade of the lake basin.
Islands and shores of Lake Chad
Buduma / Yedina
People of the lake, fishers and herders; Buduma cattle swim between the islands.
Lower Logone and Chari, toward Kousséri and Cameroon
Kotoko
Heirs of the Sao, fishers and townspeople of the banks, Islamised, with historic sultanates.
Chari-Baguirmi, around Massenya
Baguirmi / Barma
Founders of the Baguirmi kingdom, court Islam, banco and pottery.
Sahel and centre
Sahelian centre and east: Batha, Chari-Baguirmi, Ouaddaï, Salamat
Chadian Arabs
Nomadic or semi-nomadic, Chadian Arabic, herding, long presence in the Sahel.
Chadian Sahel, north–south transhumance
Fulani / Fulbe
Muslim herders, Fulfulde, transhumance, pastoral music.
Eastern and central Sahel, transhumance; Gerewol
Mbororo / Wodaabe
Nomadic Fulani herders, famed for the Gerewol dance and contests of grace.
Batha, Fitri, plains around Guera
Bulala / Medogo / Kuka
People of the centre, fishers and farmers of the Fitri plains.
Guera massif, Mongo, Bitkine, Abou Telfane
Hadjerai (Bidiyo / Kenga / Dangaleat)
People of the Guera mountains, historic refugees from the plains, festival and crafts.
Towns and markets: N’Djamena, Mongo, Abéché, Moundou
Hausa
Traders and craftspeople of the towns, Hausa as a market language.
Kanem and Ouaddaï, ties with Darfur
Tunjur
People of Kanem and the east, Sudanese memory, Islam, history tied to Wadai.
East and Ouaddaï
Ouaddaï, Abéché, Sila; toward Sudan
Maba / Wadai / Masalit
Core of the Wadai sultanate, Islam, crafts, Abéché as a city of memory.
Sila, south of Ouaddaï, toward Darfur
Daju / Kibet / Muro
Agro-pastoralists of the east, Daju sultanates, Sudanese ties.
Northern Ouaddaï and Wadi Fira, toward Darfur
Tama / Assongori / Mararit
Muslim agro-pastoralists of the east, former Tama sultanate.
East-centre, edge of Ouaddaï and Guera
Mesmedje / Massalat / Kadjakse
Farming groups of the east, little-described languages, neighbours of Wadai and Guera.
Sahara and Tibesti
Borkou, Kanem, Ennedi, Bahr el-Ghazal
Gorane / Daza
Saharan nomads, Daza, camels and zebu, desert autonomy.
Tibesti massif, northern oases
Teda (Toubou of Tibesti)
Mountain people of Tibesti, camels, Islam, Saharan independence.
Bahr el-Ghazal, between Kanem and Borkou
Kreda
Largest Daza lineage, herders of Bahr el-Ghazal.
Ennedi, Wadi Fira, Ouaddaï; toward Darfur
Zaghawa / Bideyat / Kobe
Cross-border herders of Ennedi and Darfur, Zaghawa language, contemporary political role.
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