The Teda are referred to as desert warriors living in the eastern and central Sahara desert in Africa. They are a people of mixed ancestry, and are often referred to as Tebu, Tiou, or Toubou; but Teda or Teda-too is what they call themselves. A majority of Teda can be found in the Tibesti Mountains on the Libyan-Chad border. Living in a third world country with extreme poverty, the Teda are a very tough people who often have hostile fights with their neighboring tribes.
Climate: The Sahara desert the Teda live on is the largest desert in the world and covers 3.5 million square miles; the Teda occupy approximately 100,000 of those square miles. In this hot, dry, arid climate the daily temperatures average 90 degrees and parts of the desert reach 110 degrees. Winter temperatures average 50-60 degrees. Annual rainfall averages are less than 4 inches, and large areas receive less than one inch. In the mountain ranges, such as Tibesti, there is more rain; and snow sometimes covers the mountaintops.
History: During the Pleistocene Ice Age the Sahara desert had a much wetter climate. Many elephants and giraffes roamed the area. Due to a drop in the earths tilt relative to the sun this area became much drier, the grass vegetation disappeared. The oldest man has main authority until he dies. Marriage involves the payment of livestock, their main source of wealth from the grooms family to the brides. Women are as young as fifteen or sixteen, and the males are generally eighteen to twenty years old when they marry. It is quite common for Teda women to fight among themselves. Women usually carry daggers, and up to a hundred years ago wore swords as well.
Food: The date palm is the main food plant in the Teda diet. Other food sources come from the milk of goats, sheep, and camels; garden produce; and gathered wild fruits and seeds that supplement their daily diets. Livestock is the main source of wealth in Teda society. Camels and goats are the most common animals kept. Men are responsible for herding the camels, as well as hunting and trading while women tend to the goats.Teda culture has little respect for those who do agricultural work. The Teda who do farm do not use plows to cultivate the land, or practice crop rotation. Farm work is mostly considered to be slave work. The garden produce includes wheat, barley, millet, maize, tomatoes, and onions. The crops are generally poor in quality and production.
Religion: The Teda are all Islamic. Before converting to Islam they were animists. Animists believed non-living objects had spirits. Having contact with the Arab Muslims the conversion to Muslim was at least a 1,000 year process. Islamization of the Tibesti did not go under way until 1880, according to Lyon, a reliable observer who had documented this information.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Teda.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.
If you are Teda, your feedback is much appreciated.
References:
Briggs, Lloyd Cabot. Tribes of the Sahara. Harvard University Press, 1960.
Sahara. The World Book Encyclopedia., Vol. 17, World Book, Inc., 1999.
The Teda of Chad. Prayer Profiles.
http://www.bethany.com/profiles/p_code4/1827.html
16 March 2000.
Teda. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=73390&sctn=1#s_top
1994-1999.
Written by Pam Riederer