Toubou people
The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "rock people") are an ethnic group native to the Tibesti Mountains that inhabit the central Sahara in northern Chad, southern Libya, northeastern Niger and northwestern Sudan. They live either as herders and nomads or as farmers near oases. Their society is clan-based, with each clan having certain oases, pastures and wells.
Traditional Toubou warriors | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 1,225,933 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Chad | 1,074,343 |
| Niger | 101,590 |
| Libya | 50,000–85,000 |
| Languages | |
| Tebu languages (Daza, Teda) Arabic (Chadian Arabic, Libyan Arabic) | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (Sunni Islam) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tuareg, Kanembu, Zaghawa | |
The Toubou are generally divided into two closely related groups: the Teda (or Tuda, Téda, Toda, Tirah) and the Daza (or Dazzaga, Dazagara, Dazagada). They are believed to share a common origin and speak the Tebu languages, which are from the Saharan branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Tebu is divided further into two closely related languages, called Tedaga (Téda Toubou) and Dazaga (Dazaga Gouran). Of the two groups, the Daza, found to the south of the Teda, are more numerous.
The Toubou people are also referred to as the Tabu, Tebu, Tebou, Tibu, Tibbu, Toda, Todga, Todaga, Tubu, Tuda, Tudaga, or Gorane people. The Daza are sometimes referred to as Gouran (or Gorane, Goran, Gourane), an Arabian exonym. Many of Chad's leaders have been Toubou (Gouran), including presidents Goukouni Oueddei and Hissène Habré.