Passing culture on between generations

• InitiationRites that bring young people into adulthood: the Sara yondo, the Massa guru walla, Moundang boys’ initiation. They teach rules, language and duties to the group.
• Griots, genealogies and oral historyClan genealogies among the Toubou and Arabs, memory of the Ouaddaï and Kanem sultanates, songs and poetry: history is recited before it is written.
• Crafts within familiesBlacksmithing among the Haddad, fishing and canoes among the Buduma and Kotoko, herding among the Daza, Zaghawa and Mbororo: skills are learned by working alongside elders.
• Religion, spirits and authorityThe margai cult among the Hadjeraï, the sacred kingship of Léré, the derde of Tibesti, the alifa of Mao, Quranic school: these institutions keep and pass on the social order.
• Names and marriageClan, lineage and alliances between families shape marriage and naming in most of the societies described. Details vary widely: we publish them only when a specific source documents them.
• Passing on languagesOver a hundred languages are spoken in Chad (Ethnologue). At home children often learn the group’s language; at school, French and Arabic; in town, Chadian Arabic. The Beria alphabet shows an oral language can also be written.
• City and villageIn villages, rites, chieftaincy and collective work remain close at hand. In towns (N’Djaména, Moundou, Abéché, Sarh), school, world religions, media and the mixing of people change practices; associations, music and festivals become new places of transmission.

By people

• SaraThe yondo gathered boys of one age set in the bush for several weeks: ordeals, a secret language and lessons from elders. School, churches and city life have reduced its place, but language, songs and clan ties are still passed on in families.
• Gorane / DazaAmong the Toubou, J. Chapelle describes transmission through the clan: recited genealogies, livestock brands, rights to wells and palm groves, oral poetry. Children learn herding by following the herds.
• Teda (Toubou of Tibesti)Clan genealogies, grazing rights and stories of ancestors are passed on orally; the derde’s authority links the clans of the massif.
• Chadian ArabsTribal and lineage genealogies, poetry and knowledge of routes and water points are passed on in the camp (ferik). Quranic school plays a big role; in town, Chadian Arabic becomes young people’s shared language.
• Hadjerai (Bidiyo / Kenga / Dangaleat)Margai priests pass their office down through lineages; agricultural festivals gather the village and teach the young the order of clans. P. Fuchs notes that these rites varied from village to village and are declining with Islamisation and migration.
• Kanembu / BornuThe alifa’s court, stories about Kanem and Quranic school keep memory alive; among the Haddad, blacksmithing passes from father to son.
• Maba / Wadai / MasalitMemory of the sultanate (chieftaincies, court titles, Abéché’s mosques) and Quranic teaching structure transmission; in town, the Maba language is losing ground to Chadian Arabic.
• Zaghawa / Bideyat / KobeCamel brands, genealogies and songs are passed on in the family; the Beria alphabet was created to write the language down for younger generations.
• MundangThe Léré court preserves royal rites and the year’s festivals; masks and boys’ initiation passed on the social order (A. Adler).
• Masa / Musey / MusgumThe guru walla gathers young men under the elders’ authority; it teaches the prestige of cattle and solidarity between families.
• Mbororo / WodaabePulaaku, the Fulani code of conduct (restraint, patience, herding skill), is learned in the family; the Gerewol brings lineages together and passes on songs, dances and adornment.
• Buduma / YedinaNavigating, fishing and guiding the Kuri cow from island to island are learned from childhood with elders.
• KotokoEach town’s chieftaincy, collective fishing and Sao memory (pottery, stories) are passed on locally.

Sources for this section

• INSEED, RGPH 2009 (recensement général de la population)
• Wikipédia, Sara (peuple)
• R. Jaulin, La Mort sara, Plon, 1967 (initiation yondo)
• J.-P. Magnant, La Terre sara, terre tchadienne, L’Harmattan, 1986
• Ethnologue, langues du Tchad
• J. Chapelle, Nomades noirs du Sahara (Toubou), Plon, 1957
• Wikipédia, Toubous (Teda et Daza)
• A. Le Rouvreur, Sahariens et Sahéliens du Tchad, Berger-Levrault, 1962
• J.-F. Vincent, Les Margaï du pays hadjeraï, ORSTOM/IRD
• Wikipédia, Baggara (Arabes éleveurs)
• J.-F. Vincent, « Rite, histoire, structure chez les Kenga », L’Homme, 1975
• Gaddoum Daoud, Le Culte des esprits margay chez les Dangaléat du Guéra (c. r.)
• P. Fuchs, La Religion des Hadjéray, L’Harmattan, 1997 (c. r. Journal des africanistes)
• Wikipedia, Hadjarai peoples
• Wikipédia, Kanembous
• Wikipedia, Haddad (Chad)
• Wikipédia, Sultanat du Ouaddaï
• Wikipédia, Masalit
• Wikipédia, Zaghawa
• A. Adler, La Mort est le masque du roi. La royauté sacrée des Moundang du Tchad, Payot, 1982
• I. de Garine, travaux sur le guru walla des Massa (CNRS)
• Wikipédia, Wodaabe (Bororo) et Gerewol
• Wikipédia, Boudoumas
• Wikipédia, Kouri (race bovine)
• Wikipédia, Kotoko

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