Cultural portrait · East and Ouaddaï

Tama / Assongori / Mararit

Muslim agro-pastoralists of the east, former Tama sultanate.

Context

People profile

Language family: Nilo-Saharan (Tama)
Region / province: Northern Ouaddaï and Wadi Fira, toward Darfur
Livelihoods: farming · herding
Customs and oral literature: End-of-season percussion, village festivals.
Present-day situation: In 2019 the east of the country (Ouaddaï, Sila) saw deadly intercommunal violence, mostly between Arab herders and settled communities; a state of emergency was declared there in August 2019. Since April 2023 these provinces, together with Wadi Fira and Ennedi Est, have hosted refugees from the war in Sudan. (International Crisis Group, Rapport Afrique n°284, « Avoiding the Resurgence of Intercommunal Violence in Eastern Chad », 2019-12-30 ; UNHCR, « Chad: Forcibly Displaced Persons » (octobre 2025), 2025-10)
Sources: EDS-MICS 2014-2015 · Sources
Last reviewed: 18 October 2026

Share (EDS-MICS 2014–2015): 1.1%
Subgroups: Tama, Assongori, Mararit
Culture: Eastern people, Islam, millet and cattle. The Tama formed their own sultanate, distinct from Wadai. Census: Tama/Assongori/Mararit.
Food / staple foods: Millet, vegetables, milk, meat.
To remember: Tama, Mararit and Sungor languages. Transmission by recitation.

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

No reliable encyclopedia article identified for this group yet: contributions and sources welcome.

Cultural profile

0 of 6 sections documented

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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.