Cultural portrait · Sahel and centre

Bulala / Medogo / Kuka

People of the centre, fishers and farmers of the Fitri plains.

Context

People profile

Language family: Nilo-Saharan (Sara–Bongo–Bagirmi)
Region / province: Batha, Fitri, plains around Guera
Livelihoods: fishing · farming
Customs and oral literature: Drum dances, fishing festivals.
Present-day situation: According to Crisis Group, clashes between Bulala farmers and Arab herders killed at least 21 people near Bokoro (Hadjer-Lamis) in August 2021, and others followed at Bitra (Batha) in December 2021. In 2024, floods affected 172,750 people in Batha. (International Crisis Group, Briefing Afrique n°199, « Tchad : rompre le cycle des violences agropastorales », 2024-08-23 ; OCHA, « Tchad : Situation des inondations – Rapport de situation n°04 », 2024-10-15)
Sources: Wikipédia, « Boulala (peuple) » · EDS-MICS 2014-2015 · Sources
Last reviewed: 18 October 2026

Share (EDS-MICS 2014–2015): 3.7%
Subgroups: Bulala, Medogo, Kuka
Culture: Central Sahel groups, Muslim, sedentary, around lakes and lowlands. Neighbours of the mountain Hadjerai.
Food / staple foods: Millet, fish, vegetables.
To remember: Bulala, Kuka and Medogo languages. Nets, baskets, plains life.

SourcesPortraits and pages draw on public sources. Population shares follow the 2014-2015 EDS-MICS household survey, not the last census (RGPH 2009). Main photographs are documentary stills (Festival Dary, Wiki Loves Folklore, Wiki Loves Africa, Wikimedia archives) under Creative Commons, credited to the photographer.

In-depth portrait

Machine translation from French, under review. The French text is authoritative.

What the encyclopedia says

The Boulala or Bilala are a Muslim people living around Lake Fitri, in the Batha region of central Chad. They numbered 136,629 at the last census, in 1993. They speak a Nilo-Saharan language, divided into four dialects, very close to those of two of their neighbours, the Kuka and the Medogo. These three groups form the Lisi group and appear to descend from the former inhabitants of the Sultanate of Yao.

Quoted from French Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) : « Boulala (peuple) » · Translated excerpt, licence CC BY-SA 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Cultural profile

0 of 6 sections documented

History and origins To document
Language To document
Social organisation To document
Beliefs and religious practice To document
Life cycle (birth, initiation, marriage, funerals) To document
Housing, crafts and dress To document

Documented fact: based on a published written source, cited under the section. Reported oral account: testimony from a community member, published with their consent, not confirmed in writing. Empty sections stay empty rather than being filled in.