Masalit (people)
The Masalit (also Massalit or Massaleit , self-designation Masara , Arabic ماساليت) are a black African, Muslim people in Darfur in western Sudan and in the Wadai region in eastern Chad . They speak Masalit , a Nilo-Saharan language. In 1983 there were around 250,000 masalites.
Culture
Most of the Masalit, like the neighboring ethnic groups, are subsistence farmers who, in addition to farming, also raise cattle. Their living conditions are very simple.
The Masalit are Muslims, but have kept various customs of their own. So they brew a beer called Merisa , which is rich in vitamin B and traditionally important in their diet. Since they did not see it as "alcohol", they did not see it falling under prohibition in Islam.
Traditionally, the Masalit had close contacts with the neighboring ethnic groups of the Fur and Zaghawa , with whom they married each other, as well as with the Baggara .
history
From 1884 to 1911 the Masalit had their own state, Dar Masalit . They lost their independence after they opposed the colonization of the Wadai by the French under the leadership of their sultan Taj al-Din . On January 4, 1910, they lured a French troop into an ambush in Wadi Kajja (near today's El-Geneina in Sudan) and massacred them (also: "Battle of Kirnding"). 180 rifles and 20,000 rounds fell into the hands of the sultan's men. At the end of October, Lieutenant Colonel Moll went on a punitive expedition. In the Battle of Daroti the Masalit were decisively defeated on November 9, 1911, Taj al-Din and 40 of his family members were killed. He was succeeded as Sultan in 1910 by Bahr al-Din Abu Bakr Ismail , who was in office under French suzerainty until 1951.
In the Darfur conflict , the Masalit in Sudan, like the Fur and Zaghawa , are fighting against marginalization by the Sudanese central government and for more regional autonomy . They are affected by human rights violations such as massacres, displacement and mass rape by the government-equipped " Janjawid " militias.
Massalat
The Massalat are a subgroup that separated from the rest of the Masalit and moved further west into Chad. Their language, Massalat, which is related to the Masalit language, is threatened with extinction, as many Massalat switch to Chad Arabic .
swell
- ^ The Masalit People of Chad and Sudan
- ↑ 13 ° 26 'N, 22 ° 26' E
- ↑ Herbert, Edwin; Risings and Rebellions 1919-1939; Nottingham 2007; ISBN 1-901543-12-9 , pp. 169-74.
- ↑ ethnologue.com about the language Massalat (Eng.)