The Zaghawa (also spelled Zakhawa) are an ethnic group of eastern Chad and western Sudan, including Darfur.
They have their own language, which is also called Zaghawa, and the breed of sheep that they herd is called Zaghawa by the Arabs. They are semi-nomadic and obtain much of their livelihood through herding cattle, camels and sheep and harvesting wild grains. It has been estimated that there are between 75,000 and 350,000 Zaghawa.
Names
The Kanemite royal history, the Girgam, refers to the Zaghawa people as the Duguwa. Today, Zaghawa refer to themselves as the Beri, while the name "Zaghawa" comes from the nearby Arab peoples and became better known.
History
The Zaghawa are first mentioned in Arabic language texts. The Arab geographer al-Ya'qubi, in a description written around 890 spoke of them as the “Zaghawa who live in a place called Kanem,” and proceeded to list a string of other kingdoms under Zaghawa rule. Historically, the Zaghawa people held a sort of hegemony over most of the smaller complex societies that stretched from at least Lake Chad to the Nile valley kingdoms of Nubia, Makuria and Alwa.
Uh, let me ask you somethin' Say people, are you ready? Are you ready to get together To get together? But first, well, there's just one thing We've, we've got to do You know, we've got to do Well, first let's set all people free First let's set all, no matter color or creed No matter if a mixed breed Say people, ay, are you ready? Ah, could you, could you Tell me if you're ready To stand up and fight? Oh, fight for your rights, we're gonna fight for our rights M I A's, missing in action Oh, P.O.W's, prisoners of war Brother South Africans, couple of soldiers Oh, men abroad, come back ah ya yard, uh First let's set all people free First let's set all, no matter color or creed No matter if a mixed breed, ay, we mean it First let's set all people free First let's set all, no matter color or creed Ay, no matter if a mixed breed Ay, say people, ay, are you ready? Ah, could you tell me if you're ready To get it together? You better get it together But, but first there's just One, one, one thing Ooh, we've got to do, ooh, we must do Ay, first let's set all people free You know first let's set all, no matter color or creed No matter if a mixed breed, ay, ay, ay Are you ready? Could you tell me if you're ready? To get it together once and forever Just get it together, once, once and forever, ay Say people, are you ready? Say people, are you ready? All you people, are you ready? Say people (Black, white, Indian and Chinese) Are you ready? (Uh, uh are you ready?) Say people, are you ready?
Itno has brought more Gouranes people into his circle, creating suspicion among the Zaghawa, his father’s people in the north-east, who are deeply entrenched in the military and political elite.
Both men are from the Zaghawa non-Arab tribe ... “Zaghawa people from remote villages in Chad – who live along the border and are very armed – could absolutely be implicated in the conflict [in North Darfur],” Hoinathy told Al Jazeera.
The genocide, which is being carried out against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, has led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict several people for crimes against humanity, rape, forced transfer and torture.
N';Djamena ...Audio messages attributed to Berdei Targuio calling on people to avenge the death of Yaya Dillo have been circulating in recent days in the ethnic Zaghawa community, to which both the activist and the Deby Itno family belong ... .
Since returning to Darfur in 2020, JEM and SLA-MM have been actively recruiting in el-Fasher, attracting young Zaghawa and Fur men from the ZamzamIDP (internally displaced people) camp – which has a ...
Fashir is home to tens of thousands of displaced civilians as well as heavily armed militias from the Zaghawa, an ethnically African group of people who spent nearly two decades fighting the central government.
Names of people interviewed are withheld for fear of reprisals ... Widespread and apparently deliberate fire damage was visible in El Geneina, primarily affecting places where thousands of people displaced during previous attacks were living.
More than 60 people were killed in demonstrations against the October 2021 coup, and more than 140 were injured ... The genocide was directed at the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa peoples, who claim Arab descent.
At least half a million people remain in displacement camps in Darfur, two decades after a bloody conflict broke out between the Arab-dominated Sudanese government and rebel groups ... Hundreds of people have been killed, and tens of thousands displaced.
"He also represents the Zaghawa tribe which has many, many influential people in power, in business, in government, and in the military ... Meanwhile, some people feel the current international pressure on Chad's rulers is not strong enough.
