Cultural portrait · South and Mayo-Kebbi

Tupuri / Kera

Farmers of Mayo-Kebbi, known for masked dances and wooden masks.

Context

People profile

Language family: Afro-Asiatic (Chadic)
Region / province: East Mayo-Kebbi, around Fianga and Gounou-Gaya
Livelihoods: farming
Customs and oral literature: Masked dances, agricultural festivals.
Present-day situation: In 2024, floods affected 218,238 people in Mayo-Kebbi Est. Crisis Group counts the Mayo-Kebbi populations among the sedentary communities exposed to farmer–herder violence; Léo canton saw clashes in 2022. (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, « Toupouri (peuple) » · EDS-MICS 2014-2015 · Sources
Last reviewed: 18 October 2026

Share (EDS-MICS 2014–2015): 2%
Subgroups: Tupuri, Kera
Culture: Chadic people, Christian or traditionalist. Village community life.
Food / staple foods: Yams, peanuts, millet, fish.
To remember: Tupuri and Kera languages; sacred wooden masks.

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 Toupouri are a Central African people living mainly in south-western Chad and northern Cameroon. Some also live in Nigeria.

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