Release date is 2026-03-17

Galo Flordelis (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Library of Congress)

"La région du Tchad et du Ouadaï; études ethnographiques, dialecte Toubou, Tome…." by Henri Carbou is a scientific ethnographic and linguistic study written in the early 20th century. It examines the peoples around Lake Chad and the Ouaddaï, combining historical synthesis with field notes and a practical sketch of the Toubou dialect, with special attention to the Kanem-Bornu sphere and its ethnic groups.

The opening of this volume presents the purpose and scope of the study, acknowledges reliance on explorers and scholars like Barth and Nachtigal, and explains the inclusion of a Toubou (Dazagada) dialect outline while noting that an Arabic dialect section was published separately. It then begins with the Kanem peoples, focusing on the Kanembou: the meaning and formation of their name, debates over dynastic origins (Arab, Berber/Bardoa, or Toubou), and a synthesized narrative of migrations and state formation from Kanem to Bornu, including wars with Toubou and Boulala and the rise of rulers such as Idris Alaoma. The account sketches later shifts—Toundjour control, Bornuan interventions, the arrival and dominance of the Oulad Sliman, Senussi involvement, and early French military actions—mainly to situate the region’s instability. It concludes this opening section with concise ethnography of the Kanembou (physique, Islamic practice, agriculture, social distinctions vis-à-vis Haddad, dance customs, clan lists and locales around Ngouri, Mao, Mondo, and the Lake Chad islands), establishing a framework for the detailed studies that follow. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1912