Tchad
Ma Culture
FRENAR

Tchad Ma Culture

Lac

Lake Chad province, capital Bol. Fishing, islands and shores; the water body shrank sharply in the 20th century. Mobility and displacement are written carefully here, without invented figures.

← All provinces

Documentary photo : Lac
Capital
Bol
Neighbours
Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon; Kanem, Hadjer-Lamis.

A people, a language or a festival may concern several provinces. Administrative borders are not cultural borders.

9 / 12 headings with sourced content. The rest awaits consented collection.

Overview

Lake Chad province, capital Bol. Fishing, islands and shores; the water body shrank sharply in the 20th century. Mobility and displacement are written carefully here, without invented figures.

Communities

Buduma / Yedina · Kanembu / Bornu

  • Buduma / Yedina — Buduma (Yedina), Kuri
  • Kanembu / Bornu — Kanembu, Kanuri / Bornu

From portraits already published in the archive. This is not a complete provincial inventory.

Subgroups present in the province

Subgroups attested by our sources in this province, with towns or villages tied to a tradition.

  • Choa (Shuwa)To be confirmed
    Area
    Chari-Baguirmi, Hadjer-Lamis, lake shores
    Language or dialect
    Chadian (Shuwa) Arabic

    Common name for the Arabs of western Chad and the lake basin; internal divisions vary between authors.

  • Kanembu of the Lac province
    Area
    Lake Chad shores and polders
    Language or dialect
    Kanembu
    Towns and villages
    Bol

    Flood-recession farming on polders, herding and trade with the islands.

  • Haddad
    Area
    Kanem, Barh el Gazel, Lake
    Language or dialect
    Kanembu or Chadian Arabic depending on the group

    Blacksmiths, hunters and craftsmen living among the Kanembu; a distinct, long-marginalised social status.

  • WodaabeTo be confirmed
    Area
    Chadian Sahel, seasonal transhumance (areas vary)
    Language or dialect
    Fulfulde

    Nomadic zebu herders; the Gerewol, a male beauty contest, takes place at the end of the rainy season.

  • Boudouma (Yedina)
    Area
    Lake Chad islands
    Language or dialect
    Yedina (Chadic)

    Island fishers and herders; traditional papyrus canoes.

  • KouriTo be confirmed
    Area
    South-eastern Lake Chad
    Language or dialect
    Yedina or Kanembu depending on sources

    Associated with the Kuri cow with bulbous horns, which swims between islands; their exact status relative to the Buduma is debated.

Languages

  • Buduma / Yedina — Afro-Asiatic (Chadic: Yedina) · Yedina (Buduma) language. Lake cluster with the Kuri.
  • Kanembu / Bornu — Nilo-Saharan (Western Saharan: Kanembu, Kanuri) · Kanembu and Kanuri languages. Major traders of the central Sahara.

Languages atlas

From portraits already published in the archive. This is not a complete provincial inventory.

Local history

The water body of Lake Chad shrank sharply in the 20th century. Mobility and displacement are written carefully here, without invented figures.

History page

Food

Food in the archive

From portraits already published in the archive. This is not a complete provincial inventory.

Music and dance

Sourced musicians

From portraits already published in the archive. This is not a complete provincial inventory.

Crafts and objects

  • Buduma / Yedina — Often grouped with the Kanembu in the census. Islam, amphibious life, canoes, Sao memory. Distinct in language and lake environment.
  • Kanembu / Bornu — People of Kanem and the Lake Chad basin, of Saharan languages (Kanembu, Kanuri). EDS-MICS groups them with the Buduma. Sunni Islam, towns and villages, memory of the mai of Kanem.

From portraits already published in the archive. This is not a complete provincial inventory.

Ceremonies and festivals

Local festivals: timing, meaning, participation conditions. A precise date is published only when sourced. Locally determined ceremonies are not given an invented day.

Places and heritage

Lake Chad

Living culture

Contemporary artists, organisations, youth, urban culture and diaspora ties: to document with consent. No name is invented to fill the list.

Archive media

Photographs, audio, interviews: creator, source, date if known, licence or permission, and a careful location. Nothing sensitive without agreement.

Sources and gaps

Sources

Offer an accountRequest a correction

See on the map

Last updated :