Cultural portrait · South and Mayo-Kebbi

Marba / Lele / Mesme

Farmers and fishers of Tandjilé, with a dense oral tradition.

Context

People profile

Language family: Afro-Asiatic (Chadic)
Region / province: Tandjilé and the Logone valley
Livelihoods: farming · fishing
Customs and oral literature: Harvest dances and community ceremonies.
Present-day situation: In 2024, floods affected 226,535 people in Tandjilé. Crisis Group cites the Tandjilé populations among the southern sedentary communities hit by farmer–herder violence. (OCHA, « Tchad : Situation des inondations – Rapport de situation n°04 », 2024-10-15 ; International Crisis Group, Briefing Afrique n°199, « Tchad : rompre le cycle des violences agropastorales », 2024-08-23)
Sources: Wikipédia, « Marba (peuple) » · EDS-MICS 2014-2015 · Sources
Last reviewed: 18 October 2026

Share (EDS-MICS 2014–2015): 3.5%
Subgroups: Marba, Lele, Mesme
Culture: Chadic people of the south, Christian or traditionalist, organised in village communities.
Food / staple foods: Millet, vegetable stews, fish.
To remember: Marba, Lele and Mesme languages.

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 Marba, who call themselves Marbana or Azumeina, live in Tandjilé, Mayo-Kebbi and Chari-Baguirmi in Chad. They make up 3.7% of Chad’s population.

Quoted from French Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) : « Marba (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.