An Empire One Thousand Years Old

Modern Kanembu Nomads

The Chadian nomads wandering the Sahara seem like living relics of ancient history, and they are.  Their predecessors were traveling the same sands of north and east Chad or cultivating the more hospitable northern and central parts, where historians trace peoples descending from the ancient kingdoms of the area.  Before the French claimed Chad in 1900, indigenous peoples lived in Islamic states.  But before that, traces of kingdoms, chiefdoms, and sultanates can be found. [1] Their histories read like a tangled mess - try to pick out one thread and find it is knotted with several others.  This article focuses on the two main kingdoms existing in the area - Kanem and Bornu.  They interacted with each other for a thousand years.

Kanem Empire

Kanem Flag

In 300 B.C. a nomadic people group called the Kanembu was pushed towards the Lake Chad due to political pressure in their former wandering grounds to the north. The Sao culture already existed there, but the Kanembu, under the Dugawa Dynasty, eventually dominated the Sao. They founded N'jimi (meaning "south" in their language" as their capital around 700 and called their divine king the "Mai." The ruling entity was called the "Magumi." After the arrival of Islam brought by the Berbers and Arabs, a Kanembu noble called Hummay removed the last Dugawa "mai" and established the Sefuwa Dynasty.  With his influence, the Kanem government went through Islmaization. New ideas from Arabia and the Mediterranean came with Islam. Kanem began growing rapidly, peaking under Mai Dunama Dabbalemi (1221-1259). As Dabbalemi proclaimed jihad war on the surrounding countries, the small Bornu kingdom, west of Lake Chad, recognized Kanem's power and began paying tribute. The kingdom flourished and expanded under Dabbalemi, but after his death the kingdom crumbled internally. By the end of the 1300's, Kanem was weak enough that the Bulala, a people group still enraged by the fact that Dabbalemi had destroyed their religious cult, took possession of Kanem and its capital. In turn, the Bulala would be conquered by the Bornu Empire. [2]

Evolution of the Kanem-Bornu Empire

Exiled from Kanem, the Sefuwa built their own state in 1380 - Bornu. They defeated Bulala and retook the old capital of N'jimi. They merged as the Kanem-Bornu empire. (Bornu) During the reign of Mai Idris Alooma (1571-1603), Kanem-Bornu became a great nation. Tribute came from surrounding kingdoms once again and trade flourished in the north. Slowly, however, Kanem-Bornu began to fade, becoming simply Bornu once again. The capital was conquered by the Fulani people, who had been declaring jihad war on most of north-central Africa. [3] Eventually, the Fulani, threatened by war and raiding in the north, accepted French protectorate in 1900. [4]

Bornu Warriors in 1847

Kanem-Bornu existed as a small fragment under small kings called "shehu" (from Arabic title), and this was the Kanem-Bornu which came into contact with the French. [5] Their heritage is preserved in an Arabic volume - called the Girgam - containing the names of 69 Kanem-Bornu rulers spread over almost a thousand years.  After the fall of the Sefuwa dynasty, the Fulani tried to remove the memory of the Sefuwa and destroyed all copies of the Girgam.  There are now only two known copies, but they give historians information concerning the length of the kings' reigns and some notable events. [6]





[1] "Culture of Chad", http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Chad.html#ixzz3SVEA63Y9.
[2] "Kanem Empire", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanem_Empire.
[3] "Kanem-Barnu Empire", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanem-Bornu_Empire.
[4] "Culture of Chad", http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Chad.html#ixzz3SVEA63Y9.
[5] "Kanem-Barnu Empire", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanem-Bornu_Empire.
[6] "Girgam", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girgam.

Friday the Thirteenth

The Chadian town after the attack

On February 13, 2015, members of the terrorist group Boko Haram stole across Lake Chad to attack a village. The group's focus has centered around Niger and Nigeria, making this the first attack onto Chadian soil.  Although the Chadian military responded, reports differ on how many villagers died (some say 5 [1] others say 10 [2]).  This was the first Boko Haram attack on Chad. [3]

Background

“Boko Haram” became common vocabulary in April of 2014, when 276 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped and the majority held until October. [4] However, Boko Haram is much more complex. 

To begin with, Boko Haram is not the official name of this group.  The name is “Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad,” which means “Group of the People of Sunna for Preaching and Jihad.”  In turn, "Boko Haram" specifically means "Western Education is Forbidden."  Its reaction against Westernization is a repercussion of events from the 1960’s to current.  When the British colonizers were pushed out of Nigeria, the country operated as a military dictatorship from 1966-1999 (excluding a few years’ time when the country was democratic).  Religious violence was high in the 1980’s as Islamic sects clashed, resulting in riots in the larger cities.  The country “stabilized” in 1999, but Nigeria has still dealt with social inequality, poverty, increasingly radical Islam, and full hyper-renouncement of former British colonization.  Out of this came what we refer to as Boko Haram – a Wahhabi, Salafi, and fundamentalist sect.  This radical group was founded by Mohammad Yusuf in 2002 as a full rejection of Westernization, especially Western education, and is connected with al-Qaeda and Iraq.  Its goal is to create a fundamentalist Emirate state in Nigeria. [5]

Abubakar Shekau - from his February 16, 2015, video.

Boko Haram grew quietly until 2009, when nine of its members were captured and their bombs and weapons confiscated.  The group launched a series of revenge attacks on local police.  By the end of July, 700 members of Boko Haram were dead and many state buildings, schools, and churches had been burned.  The founder, Mohammad Yusuf, died in custody and another round of revenge attacks began under his successor, Abubakar Shekau.  Everything “snowballed” for years with riots, bombings, IED’s, suicide bombers, and the bombing of a US Embassy.  One set of bombings occurred hours after a 2011 presidential inauguration ceremony.  The so-called “Christmas Day Bombings” of 2011 were a series of 115 coinciding attacks which killed 550 people.  When a state of emergency was called in Nigeria in 2012, Shekau responded with a statement giving southern Nigerians three days to leave before he began many small-scale attacks on ethnic Igbo’s and Christians.  Within three weeks, 275 people were dead.  And the attacks are continuing, creating thousands of displaced refugees. [6] (A timeline of events can be found here)

The World's Reaction

Refugees in Ngouboua

Some of these refugees were accepted into Chad in the past six years from both the Central African Republic and Nigeria.  The town of Ngouboua was particularly generous - it is reported that the village chief willingly shared all he had.  This chief, Mai Koleye, was among the dead after Boko Haram's attack. [7] Officials say that thirty fighters crossed Lake Chad in three motarized canoes around three in the morning. [8] Houses were set on fire, police stations attacked, villagers and refugees - some who had fled from Baga only a month before - were  killed. [9]

The Chadian attack set off a chain of major events.  Monday, the 17th, representatives met in Cameroon's capital to plan the military cooperation of thirteen Central African states.  A total of $100 million was pledged to help fight Boko Haram. [10] 

That same day, Boko Haram attacked a Cameroon military camp. [11] Alongside of this attack, Abubakar Shekau released a video: "If you insist on continuing the aggression and coalition with the government of Chad, then we give you glad tidings that the land of Niger is easier than the land of Nigeria and moving the war to the depth of your cities will be the first reaction toward an aggression that occurs after this statement.” [12]

On the same day, the US backed a perennial counter-terrorism exercise.  A combination of armies from twenty-eight African and Western countries went through a warm-up exercise (called "Flintlock") in preparation for an offensive against Boko Haram.  The spokesman from Burkina Faso said “What we want is to learn to work together more effectively in fighting terrorism.  With Boko Haram, we have found that a single state cannot do it.” [13]

Chadian soldiers during the "Flintlock" exercises

UPDATE: "In Nigeria, Boko Haram Loses Ground to Chadians" - The New York Times.

Boko Haram Base Captured: Chad Taking Down Insurgents" - NAIJ.com (National Association of Independent Journalists - Nigeria)

[1] "Nigeria's Boko Haram Carries Out First Attack on Neighboring Chad".  http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-nigeria-schoolgirls/nigerias-boko-haram-carries-out-first-attack-neighboring-chad-n305716

[2] "Boko Haram Killings Reported in Chad for First Time", Ben Mathis-Lilley. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/13/boko_haram_chad_attacks_spread_to_neighboring_country.html

[3] "Boko Haram Killings Reported in Chad for First Time", Ben Mathis-Lilley. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/13/boko_haram_chad_attacks_spread_to_neighboring_country.html

[4] "Boko Haram Fast Facts". http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/09/world/boko-haram-fast-facts/

[5] "Boko Haram". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko_Haram

[6] "Boko Haram". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boko_Haram

[7] "With Attack, Boko Haram Makes Chad Its Target", Adam Nossiter. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/14/world/africa/boko-haram-carries-out-first-attack-in-chad.html?_r=0

[8] "Nigeria's Boko Haram Carries Out First Attack on Neighboring Chad". http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-nigeria-schoolgirls/nigerias-boko-haram-carries-out-first-attack-neighboring-chad-n305716

[9] "Boko Haram Killings Reported in Chad for First Time", Ben Mathis-Lilley. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/02/13/boko_haram_chad_attacks_spread_to_neighboring_country.html

[10] "Chad and Neighboring States Prepare to Take On Boko Haram". http://www.newsweek.com/chad-and-neighboring-states-prepare-take-boko-haram-307269

[11] "Chad and Neighboring States Prepare to Take On Boko Haram". http://www.newsweek.com/chad-and-neighboring-states-prepare-take-boko-haram-307269

[12] "Chad and Neighboring States Prepare to Take On Boko Haram". http://www.newsweek.com/chad-and-neighboring-states-prepare-take-boko-haram-307269

[13] "Chad and Neighboring States Prepare to Take On Boko Haram". http://www.newsweek.com/chad-and-neighboring-states-prepare-take-boko-haram-307269

Salt & the Oil Curse

Natron

Natron deposit in Era Kohor

Historically, Chad's national resource was natron, a type of salt famous for being used in Ancient Egypt for the preservation of mummies.  Natron was an important commodity in ancient times for its everyday use as a preservative.  It is a complex sodium carbonate that was also used in the area in the making of soap and medicines. [1] Natron was still used in ceramic and glass making until 640 A.D. Chad's natron was found on the shores of Lake Chad, a volcano in the western Tibesti Mountains called Trou au Natron, and the Era Kohor crater of Emi Koussi, a volcano in the southestern Tibesti Mountains. [2] 

Until the 20th century, Chad's only resources were natron, fish from Lake Chad, gold, limestone, sand, koalin (clay) and gravel. [3] Oil was discovered in the late 1960's, but was left alone due to Chad's political instability and corruption. [4]

Chad-Cameroon Pipeline

Path of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline

In an attempt to boost the economy of Chad and alleviate poverty, the World Bank proposed a 1999 plan to build a 650 mile pipeline from the Doba oilfield of Chad to the Gulf of Guniea.  An agreement was reached between the World Bank, the Chadian government, and Exxon Mobil the next year, ensuring specific requirements. [5] Chad would use the majority of its profits to fund education, healthcare, public works, and poverty reduction programs.  Another fund would hold 10% of each year's revenue for use when the oil dried up. [6] The remaining 12.5% of Chad's oil income would be sent to a London-based Citibank escrow account for the World Bank to monitor.  All of these allocations were put in the 1999 Petroleum Revenue Management Law. [7] A list of these percentages can be found here.

As the project was approved on June 6, 2000, the World Bank gave the initial 190 million dollars of the 3.7 billion dollar project. [8] By 2003, Chad was producing oil.  In 2005, the country exported 134 million barrels of oil, earning 400 million. [9]

Buried pipeline in the jungle

Chad took back its promise.  As one of the most corrupt and least democratic countries in the world, Chad's controlling institute, the Collège de Contrôle, didn't feel impaired by the agreed upon regulations. [10] Citing concern for security on the Sudanese border, the country insisted that the money be redistributed in 2006.  In a compromise with the World Bank, it was decided that the government would receive 30% of the oil revenue while still keeping up its improvement projects. [11] The 10% savings fund was done away with. [12]

In the next couple of years, reports of irresponsible use of "relief" money surfaced, stating that the school and hospital products were of terrible quality and that many of the wells were unfinished. Next, Chad repaid their 65.7 million dollar debt to World Bank.  Considering that they had made over 1 billion from the oil, this was easy to do. [13] After attempted dialogues with the Chadian government, World Bank was obliged to withdraw its support. [14]

Thinking back, many say they saw it coming.  They say it was a good deal in a bad environment - the "Oil Curse" of Africa.  Perhaps it would have worked better if the money had not had to go through the government in order to provide resources for Chad's poor. Although now enjoying millions of dollars of oil revenue every year, Chad remains a poor and corrupt country with bad infrastructure and lacking social programs. [15] 

Comic reflecting the oil situation in Chad

[1] "Chad", http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104144/Chad/54930/Resources

[2] "Natron", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natron
[3] "Chad", http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104144/Chad/54930/Resources
[4] "Chad's Oil Troubles", http://www.cfr.org/chad/chads-oil-troubles/p10532
[5] "Chad's Oil Troubles", http://www.cfr.org/chad/chads-oil-troubles/p10532
[6] "Chad and the Oil Curse", http://www.cgdev.org/article/chad-and-oil-curse
[7] "Chad's Oil Troubles", http://www.cfr.org/chad/chads-oil-troubles/p10532
[8] "Petroleum Development Pipeline Project", http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P044305/petroleum-development-pipeline-project?lang=en. "Chad's Oil Troubles", http://www.cfr.org/chad/chads-oil-troubles/p10532
[9] "Chad's Oil Troubles", http://www.cfr.org/chad/chads-oil-troubles/p10532
[10] "The Political Economy of Natural Resource Funds", http://www.columbia.edu/~mh2245/papers1/hs2007.pdf
[11] "CHAD: Civil Society Disappointed by World Bank Oil Pull-out", http://www.irinnews.org/report/80338/chad-civil-society-disappointed-by-world-bank-oil-pull-out
[12] "Chad's Oil Troubles", http://www.cfr.org/chad/chads-oil-troubles/p10532
[13] "World Bank Ends Effort to Help Chad Ease Poverty", http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/world/africa/11chad.html?_r=0

[14] "Chad's Oil Troubles", http://www.cfr.org/chad/chads-oil-troubles/p10532
[15] "CHAD: Civil Society Disappointed by World Bank Oil Pull-out", http://www.irinnews.org/report/80338/chad-civil-society-disappointed-by-world-bank-oil-pull-out

Chadian Religion

Religious mask

People in the Lake Chad region tell the story of Loa and Sou, who were not natural beings, and their creation of the world.  Loa takes residence in the sky and Sou is enveloped by the earth.  Sou has many exploits, such as capturing the star women with the aid of a talking stump.  More stories explain how the features of the world came to be, often by the use of animal figures - a monkey keeps watch over the mother of humanity, a dog is granted division of the world so he could have a place to defecate, a bird attempts to kill all the people, and a warthog and monkey foil his murderous plans. [1] 

As Islam entered the Chadian area, the stories began to link themselves with Islamic traditions.  For instance, a city founded by the Sou people, Goulfeil, was said to be fortified by the ritual protection of a copy of the Koran.  Due to a break in those traditional rites, the city was conquered by Muslims.  [2] Perhaps similarly, Christian motifs enter the stories as well. One people group tells a story of a new king ordering the deaths of the newborn male children of his predecessors.  One of the wives conceals her son and later sends him to his uncle in a different region to keep him alive.  He later returns with an army to retake the throne. [3] Does this echo the Judeo-Christian story of Moses?

Church in N'djamena

Historians have pieced together their own version of Chadian religious history, mainly centering around Islam and Christianity.  Islam was the first of the two to reach the Chadians, probably spreading from the east in the 14th century. [4] Christianity came with the colonizing Europeans, being formerly introduced by the American Baptists in 1920.  By 1980, it is estimated that there were 80,000 Christians in southern Chad.  Roman Catholics began coming in 1929, but did not reach any sort of popularity until the 1940's.  It is speculated that Catholicism's slow growth was related to its encouragement of celibacy, which directly opposed the traditional polygamy. [5] 

Traditional African Religion, a form of animism, has continued to this day.  Ceremonies involve drum rhythms and dances, with specific practices and rituals producing trances where one finds a purity of thought, knowledge, and foresight.  Their main gods are worshiped through the meeting of lesser gods and the spirits of ancestors. [6] 

Children copying verses of the Koran

Today, like most of Africa, Chad is a predominately Muslim country.  It is estimated that half of Chad's population is Muslim and one-third is Christian.  The remaining Chadians consider themselves followers of traditional religions related to animism or as having no religion at all. [7] Most Muslims live in northern and eastern Chad while most Christians and animists are found in the south. [8] However, what forms of Christianity and Islam exist are not the recognizable conventional forms.  Chadians mixed their new faiths with the traditions of their old faiths, producing an odd mixture with animism.  For example, the Pew Research Center surveyed the area from 2008-2009 and estimated that, of the Muslim population, 95% believe in God and Muhammad.  However, they also found that 47% of these Muslims believed in sorcery and witchcraft, 50% believed in the evil eye, and 68% used religious healers.  Even more curious, 55% of Muslim Chadians believe that there is only one interpretation of Islam. [9]


Of the Christian sects, most Chadians are Roman Catholic.  Jehovah's Witnesses are also present, having arrived in 1960. [10]

Church in Goundi

For about the last decade, there has been a stable balance between Muslims and Christians in the country.  The government maintains free practice of religion, but tension remains between the two religions as well as between fundamentalist and moderate Muslims.  Both Islamic and Christian holidays are celebrated as public holidays.  There is evidence that Muslim conversion is increasing in areas that had been Christian or animist.  The government also funds Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca, for government officials.  There are reports that Arab donors from the Middle East are funding Islamic schools in Chad, which are popular choices due to the inferiority of government education.  Missionaries and religious groups, foreign and local, must register with the Ministry of the Interior's Department of Religious Affairs, which have taken place without discrimination since 2004. [11]


[1] African Myths of Origin, Stephen Paterson Belcher, Print.  Section 57.
[2] African Myths of Origin, Stephen Paterson Belcher, Print.  Section 57.
[3] African Myths of Origin, Stephen Paterson Belcher, Print.  Sections 57.
[4] "Islam in Chad", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Chad
[5] "Christianity in Chad", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Chad
[6] "Traditional African Religion", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_African_religion#Classification_and_statistics
[7] "Chad - International Religious Freedom Report 2006", http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71293.htm
[8] "Chad: Religion", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad#Religion
[9] "The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity", http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/08/the-worlds-muslims-full-report.pdf
[10] "Chad - International Religious Freedom Report 2006", http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71293.htm
[11] "Chad - International Religious Freedom Report 2006", http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71293.htm