The Lisi people are three closely associated Chadian ethnic groups living in the same geographical area, represented by the Batha and Chari-Baguirmi

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain internationa ...

: the Bilala (136,000), the

Kuka KUKA is a German manufacturer of industrial robots and systems for factory automation. It has been predominantly owned by the Chinese company Midea Group since 2016. The KUKA Robotics Corporation has 25 subsidiaries, mostly sales and servic ...

(76,000) and the Medogo (19,000). The Lisi are mainly farmers growing crops such as

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many other ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets also ...

, cotton and

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated a ...

; herding is occasionally associated with farming. They live in compact villages, each of which is governed by a chief, that settles local disputes, a duty he discharges with the help of the village's elders.

Polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

is quite common, but the husband must guarantee a separate house for every wife. The first wife retains a privileged status over the others. In religion they are all

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

, and represent the people who were part of the Yao Sultanate in pre-colonial Chad. The sultanate was founded by the

Bulala The Bilala or Bulala are a Muslim people that live around Lake Fitri, in the Batha Prefecture, in central Chad. The last Chadian census in 1993 stated that they numbered 136,629 people. Their language, Naba, is divided in four dialects and is ...

in the 15th century, conquering the Kuka, who successively passed them their language. For this they all now speak the same language, known as Naba language.

References

{{authority control Ethnic groups in Chad Muslim communities in Africa