Anakaza

The Anakaza are a Chadian subgroup of the Toubou Daza ethnic group.Olson, James Stuart (1996); "Anakaza"; "The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary", Greenwood Press, pp. 28-29. ISBN 0313279187.] One of the largest of Daza subgroups [Buijtenhuijs, Robert (1978); "Le Frolinat et les révoltes populaires du Tchad, 1965-1976", Mouton, p. 242. ISBN 90-279-7657-0.fr icon] , they are a nomadic people traditionally employed in camel-herding. [Chapelle, Jean (1980); "Le Peuple Tchadien: ses racines et sa vie quotidienne", L'Harmattan, p. 170. ISBN 2-85802-169-4.fr icon] 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.Decalo, Samuel (1987); "Anakaza"; "Historical Dictionary of Chad", Scarecrow Press, p. 41. ISBN 0-8108-1937-6.] There name literally means, according to Marie Lebeuf, "the mixed people". [Nachtigal, Gustav (1980); "Sahara and Sudan: Kawar, Bornu, Kanem, Borku, Ennedi", C. Hurst, p. 404. ISBN 0903983966.]

The Anakaza trace a common ancestry from Bouttou and tell of having reached Borkou twelve generations ago moving from Oum Chalouba. 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. [Nolutshungu, Sam C. (1995). "Limits of Anarchy: Intervention and State Formation in Chad". University of Virginia Press, p. 110. ISBN 0-8139-1628-3.]

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. [Macedo, Stephen (2004); "Universal Jurisdiction: National Courts and the Prosecution of Serious Crimes Under International Law", University of Pennsylvania Press, pp. 133-134. ISBN 0812237366.] The Anakaza also formed the bulk of his èlite unit, the Presidential Guard. [Buijtenhuijs, Robert (1987); "Le Frolinat et les guerres civiles du Tchad (1977-1984)", Karthala, p. 91. ISBN 2-86537-196-4.fr icon]

Another prominent Anakaza is the current rebel leader Mahamat Nouri. Due to his rebellion in 2006 against the Chadian President Idriss Déby, the government has began exploiting the long standing rivalities among the Anakaza and another Daza subgroup, the Kamaya [http://hrw.org/reports/2007/chad0107/chad0107webwcover.pdf "They Came Here to Kill Us": Militia Attacks and Ethnic Targeting of Civilians in Eastern Chad] , Human Rights Watch Reports, 19 (1), January 2007.] , originally a semi-servile caste. [G. Nachtigal, p. 416.]

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