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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Chadian Tubu: Contemporary Nomads Who Conquered a State
Author:Buijtenhuijs, R.ISNI
Year:2001
Periodical:Africa: Journal of the International African Institute
Volume:71
Issue:1
Pages:149-161
Language:English
Geographic term:Chad
Subjects:political systems
nomads
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/1161485
Abstract:In the literature on pastoralist groups and the State, nomads are usually seen as increasingly marginalized today, whereas in the past nomads have often been described as 'State builders'. But one interesting, if atypical case has been overlooked: how a contemporary group of nomads, the Tubu of Chad, though they did not create a State, nonetheless came to conquer and dominate an existing one. This article starts by describing how the Tubu, who represent little more than six percent of the total population of Chad, established dominance over the central government in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It argues that they were able to do this because of their military qualities; Tubu guerrillas rated among the most accomplished fighters in the Chadian civil war. The article evaluates the consequences of the Tubu takeover of the Chadian State, both for Tubu society and for Chadian society in general. The fall of the Habré regime in 1990 put an end to absolute Tubu dominance over Chad - although not entirely so. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French.
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