The Hadjarai are a group of peoples comprising 6.7% of the population of

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

, or more than 150,000 people. The name is an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

, literally meaning "

hose A hose is a flexible hollow tube or pipe designed to carry fluids from one location to another, often from a faucet or hydrant. Early hoses were made of leather, although modern hoses are typically made of rubber, canvas, and helically wound w ...

of the stones" (i.e. of the mountains). It is used collectively to describe several distinct ethnic groups living in the hilly

Guéra Region Guéra or Guera may refer to: * Guéra Prefecture, a former first-level administrative division of Chad until 1999 * Guéra Region, a first-level administrative division of Chad since 2002 * Guéra Department, a second level administrative divis ...

Subgroups and culture

The fifteen Hadjarai ethnic groups include the Dajus, Kengas,

Junkun Junkun, is a type of small dugout canoe of the Sama-Bajau people of the Philippines. They are usually made from a single log, though a single plank can be added to the sides, and longer boats can include ribs that support a deck made of planks. T ...

, Dangaleats, Mogoums, Sokoros,

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...

s, Barains, Bidios, Yalnas, Bolgos, Koffas and Djongors. Most of these are small farmers. Over 90% of Hadjarai women have undergone

female genital cutting Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. FGM prevalence varies ...

. The Hadjarai groups speak diverse languages mostly belonging to the East Chadic B group, with some belonging to the unrelated Adamawa and Sara-Bongo-Bagirmi groups. However, they also share many cultural traits, the most prevalent of which is a common belief in '' margais'', i.e., invisible spirits that control the natural elements. This belief has survived the rapid conversion of most Hadjarai to Islam during the colonial period, despite attempts by the French colonial authorities to avoid Islamization through the promotion of Christian missions.

History

Though never united in the past, the Hadjarai people share a strong spirit of independence, forged in pre-colonial Chad by their repeated clashes with slave-raiding '' razzias'' in their territory, and supported in particular by the

Ouaddai Kingdom The Wadai Sultanate ( ''Saltanat Waday'', , Fur: ''Burgu'' or ''Birgu''; 1635–1912), sometimes referred to as the Maba Sultanate (), was an African sultanate located to the east of Lake Chad in present-day Chad and the Central African Republic ...

. This tradition of independence has led to frequent clashes with the central government after Chad gained independence in 1960, at first largely because of attempts to force them to move from the hills to the plains. They were among the staunchest supporters of the rebels during the Chadian Civil War. Although the Hadjarai played a crucial role in bringing to power

Hissène Habré Hissène Habré (Arabic: ''Ḥusaīn Ḥabrī'', Chadian Arabic: ; ; 13 August 1942 – 24 August 2021), also spelled Hissen Habré, was a Chadian politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 5th president of Chad from 1982 unt ...

in 1982, they grew alienated from him after the death of their spokesman

Idriss Miskine Idriss Miskine (15 March 1948 – 7 January 1984) was a Chadian politician and diplomat under Presidents Félix Malloum and Hissène Habré. Career Miskine, an ethnic Hadjarai, was the Minister of Transport, Posts, and Telecommunications under Pr ...

. They suffered heavily in 1987, after Habré launched a campaign of terror against them in response to the formation of the MOSANAT rebel movement, and members of the group were arrested and even killed ''en masse''. 840 of those arrested appear to have been immediately killed. The Hadjarai became important supporters of

Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ( '; 18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the sixth List of heads of state of Chad, president of Chad from 1991 until his death in 2021 during the 2021 Northern Chad offensive, No ...

's rebellion against the President and contributed to Habré's downfall in 1990. A crisis among Déby and the Hadjarai leadership flared in 1991 after an alleged coup attempt. Countless Hadjarai were incarcerated as fighting spread to the Hadjarai territory, despite efforts by Déby to reassure the local population of Guéra.S. Nolutshungu, ''Limits of Anarchy'', 249-252

References

{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Chad