The Lambas are an ethnic and linguistic group of people living in the Kéran and Doufelgou Districts (''Préfecture'') of the

Kara Region Kara Region () is one of Togo's five regions. Kara is the regional capital. Other major cities in the Kara region include Bafilo, Bassar, Kpagouda and Niamtougou. Kara is divided into the prefectures of Assoli, Bassar, Bimah, Dankpen, ...

in Northern

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

and in the Atakora and Donga Departments of

Bénin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

, West Africa. The capital of the Kéran District is

Kanté Kanté is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aboubakary Kanté (born 1994), Gambian-French footballer * Cédric Kanté (born 1979), Malian-French footballer * Daouda Kanté (born 1978), Malian footballer * Guyan Kanté (born ...

and the capital of the

Doufelgou Doufelgou is a prefecture located in the Kara Region of Togo. The prefecture covers 1,151 km2, with a population in 2022 of 84,767. The capital city is Niamtougou. Doufelgou means White Mountain (white= felm & mountain= dour). The cantons ...

District is

Niamtougou Niamtougou is a market town in and district capital of Doufelgou District (Préfecture), in the Kara Region of Togo. It is located north of Kara on the nation's main north–south road, national road (Route Nationale). Niamtougou market is the ...

. In Togo, the Lambas live the Center and West of the Kéran District; in the Togo Mountains on the Défalé Chain; in the Western reaches of Doufelgou District; in Eastern reaches of Doufelgou District North of the Binah River: and, in Niamtougou, in the Villages of Yaka and Agbandé. In Bénin, the Lambas live in and around Boucoumbé (Boukamtié) in the

Atakora Department Atakora (also spelled Atacora, named for the Atakora Mountains) is the northwesternmost department of Benin. Externally it borders Togo to the west and Burkina Faso to the north; internally it borders the departments of Alibori, Borgou and ...

and near

Djougou Djougou is the largest city in northwestern Benin. It is an important market town. The commune covers an area of 3,966 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 237.040 people. Djougou is home to a constituent monarchy. General info ...

and

Bassila Bassila is a town, arrondissement, and commune located in the Donga Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 5,661 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 130,770 people. The RNIE 3 highway of Benin passes through the t ...

in the

Donga Department Donga is one of the twelve departments of Benin; its capital is Djougou, the fourth largest city in the country. The department of Donga was created in 1999 when it was split off from Atakora Department. Donga is subdivided into five communes ...

. They also live in diaspora zones in the Central and Plateaux Regions of Togo, in border areas of Ghana, and in the capital cities of

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

and

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

People

The Lambas are primarily engaged in

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occ ...

and small animal husbandry, especially chickens, guinea fowl, goats, pigs, and sheep. They grow

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 millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

and

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

that they make into a thick porridge (''la pâte'') that is the staple of their diet and that they brew into thick low-alcohol beer. They also grow yams and

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, and

fonio Fonio, also sometimes called findi or acha, is the term for two cultivated grasses in the genus '' Digitaria'' that are important crops in parts of West Africa. It is a vital food source in many rural areas, especially in the mountains of Fouta ...

. The Lambas have migrated in search of fertile available land in Togo to the area along the North-South National Road No. 1 between Sokodé and Notsé, where they have founded numerous communities. In addition, they have migrated to Togo's capital city, Lomé, and the economic capital of Bénin, Cotonou, in search of wage employment. Lamba men served in the colonial armies of Germany, Britain, and France as well as in the Togolese and Beninese armies in the years following the independences of the two countries. The Lambas refer to themselves and to their Language as Lama. Lamba is the name attributed to them in French and that continues to be used in the administration. In addition, all of the inhabitants of the Doufelgou District of Togo were designated as Lossos by the colonial administration, including people who identify themselves as Lama and Nawdba. Therefore, Lambas from the Doufelgou District are still frequently called Losso. The two populations have exercised considerable mutual influence but their languages are different and do not resemble each other.

Language

The Lambas speak a collection of closely related dialects that are grouped together as the Lama language. There are approximately 200,000 native speakers of Lama in Togo and Bénin. Lama most closely resembles the

Kabiyé language Kabye may refer to: * Kabye people * Kabye language {{disambig Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...

spoken by the Kabiyé people in the Kozah and Binah Districts of Togo as well as in diaspora points. Lama an
Kabiyé
are classified under th
Grusi, Eastern
cluster of the Gur branch of the Niger-Congo languages. Also included in this cluster are Tem (Cotokoli), Bagou-Koussountou, Lukpa (Logba or Dompago), Delo (Ntribou), and Chala. Speakers of this cluster of languages constitute 28% of the population of Togo and are the second most widely spoken cluster of languages in Togo after the Gbé cluster that includes Éwé, Mina, and Waci.

References

{{authority control Ethnic groups in Togo Ethnic groups in Benin