What is "gouran"

Gouran (Dazaga) is an ethnic group that inhabits northern Chad and some parts of Libya and Niger. In Chad, they are referred to as Gouran(Gorane) while in other countries they identify as Dazaga. The Gouran are one of two subgroups of the Toubou people (Also written Tebu, Tubu, Tibu, Tibbu, Tebu, Tubu, Tebou, Umbararo), the other being the Teda. They are divided into several subgroups or clans, including Daza, Anakaza, Mourdia, Kaga, Azzaga, Karra (Kereda), Kanobo, Taruge and Kounouma. They cover the northern regions of Bourkou, Ennedi and Tibesti and Bahr el Gazel in the south. There is a diaspora community of several thousand Gouran(Dazaga) living in Omdurman, Sudan and a couple thousand working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

They are mostly known by their agricultural activity and cattle herding. Most of the population are nomadic. They speak Dazaga, which has just under 2,500,000 speakers. The Gouran, along with other African ethnic groups, have faced massive discrimination by the Libyan people in Libya where they are living in essentially an apartheid state. On the other hand, the Gouran have had significant political influence in Chad. Hissène Habré, a Gouran from the Azzaga clan, was president of Chad from 1982-1990.