Culture and history

Chad formed at the intersection of the Sahara and the Sahel, where trade and nomadic routes have developed for centuries.

Influential states arose on the territory of the country - Kanem-Bornu in the north of Lake Chad, the Bagirmi and Ouaddai sultanates in the east; Islamic scholarship, caravan routes and crafts connected the region with North Africa and Sudan.

In the twentieth century, Chad entered French Equatorial Africa and declared independence in 1960; the following decades combined state-building and periodic conflicts, which affected cultural and political dynamics.

The modern cultural picture is multi-layered: official French is adjacent to Chadian Arabic and dozens of local languages; in the south, the traditions of the Sara peoples are strong, in the north and in the center - tubu, kanembu, Arab communities and other groups.

Islam and Christianity coexist with local beliefs and rites.

The music draws on drum polyrhythmia, strings and kalimba; Afropop and poetry in Arabic and French are developing in cities.

Crafts - weaving, leather, carving, metal jewelry; the cuisine is defined by millet/sorghum (boule), peanuts, meat and river fish.

The rock art monuments of the Ennedi Highlands and the oral traditions of the nomads emphasize the antiquity of the cultural layer, and N'Djamena serves as a modern stage for festivals, cinema and street culture, combining the heritage of the Sahel with the urban day of today.