Anakaza tribe

The Anakaza are a Chadian tribe of the Gourane Daza people.[1] One of the largest of Daza subgroups,[2] they are a nomadic people traditionally employed in camel-herding.[3] They are mostly located in the Saharan region of Borkou in northern Chad, they can be found in a vast area from Faya-Largeau to Kirdimi and nomadizing an area which goues from Oum Chalouba to the Djourab and Mortcha.[4] Their name literally means, according to Marie Lebeuf, "the mixed people".[5]

The Anakaza trace a common ancestry from Bouttou and tell of having reached Borkou twelve generations ago moving from Oum Chalouba.[4] Divided among 19 clans, in turn segmented in about thirty factions, the Anakaza were deeply beset by blood feuds and internal strifes. Considered virtually ungovernable, they had fought in the 19th century the Ouled Sliman Arabs and the Senoussiya, and had remained substantially outside of the French colonial administration in the 20th century.[4][6]

In modern times out of its ranks was born Hissène Habré, president of Chad between 1982 and 1990, who during his tenure in office gave the key positions to his fellow Daza, favouring among the latters his subgroup.[7] The Anakaza also formed the bulk of his élite unit, the Presidential Guard.[8]

Another prominent Anakaza is the current rebel leader Mahamat Nouri. Due to his rebellion in 2006 against the Chadian President Idriss Déby, the government began exploiting the long-standing rivalities among the Anakaza and another Gourane Daza subgroup, the Kamaya [9]

References

  1. ↑ Olson, James Stuart (1996); "Anakaza"; The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary, Greenwood Press, pp. 28-29. ISBN 0-313-27918-7.
  2. ↑ Buijtenhuijs, Robert (1978); Le Frolinat et les révoltes populaires du Tchad, 1965-1976, Mouton, p. 242. ISBN 90-279-7657-0.(French)
  3. ↑ Chapelle, Jean (1980); Le Peuple Tchadien: ses racines et sa vie quotidienne, L'Harmattan, p. 170. ISBN 2-85802-169-4.(French)
  4. 1 2 3 Decalo, Samuel (1987); "Anakaza"; Historical Dictionary of Chad, Scarecrow Press, p. 41. ISBN 0-8108-1937-6.
  5. ↑ Nachtigal, Gustav (1980); Sahara and Sudan: Kawar, Bornu, Kanem, Borku, Ennedi, C. Hurst, p. 404. ISBN 0-903983-96-6.
  6. ↑ Nolutshungu, Sam C. (1995). Limits of Anarchy: Intervention and State Formation in Chad. University of Virginia Press, p. 110. ISBN 0-8139-1628-3.
  7. ↑ Macedo, Stephen (2004); Universal Jurisdiction: National Courts and the Prosecution of Serious Crimes Under International Law, University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 133-134. ISBN 0-8122-3736-6.
  8. ↑ Buijtenhuijs, Robert (1987); Le Frolinat et les guerres civiles du Tchad (1977-1984), Karthala, p. 91. ISBN 2-86537-196-4.(French)
  9. ↑ "They Came Here to Kill Us": Militia Attacks and Ethnic Targeting of Civilians in Eastern Chad, Human Rights Watch Reports, 19 (1), January 2007.
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