Dawada

The Dawada (Duwwud, Dawwada) are a distinctive Afro-Arab ethnic group of Fezzan, southern Libya. They had lived around the Gabraoun oasis where they harvested brine shrimp in the salty lakes. They dry the brine shrimp and sell them to caravans. In fact, their name Dawada means worm-folk in Arabic for this practice. The appearance of the Dawada is distinctive and has been likened to the Khoisan, perhaps a relict population. They are mostly an endogamic group which rarely marry outside of their tribe.

They speak an Arabic dialect, although there is nothing published on it. Some lexical terms seem to be unique to their dialect and are possibly traces of a former language which they may have originally spoken.