SUMMARY

"Tama" is a term that refers to a cluster of languages and ethnic groups that live in the Chad-Sudanese borderland. The heartland of the Tama group is called "Dar Tama" and its capital is named Guereda. A census from 1993 estimated the Tama population to be around 63,000. The Tama cluster includes different subgroups, such as Abu Sharib, the Kibet, the Mararit, the Kimr, the Sungor, the Erenga, and the Tama. Although the Tama group is made up of different subgroups they all inhabit the same sandy region and have similar lifestyles.

The Tama rely mostly on farming for subsistence, and due to climate conditions the dry farming of crops like millet, sesame, peanuts, onions, chillies and watermelons is predominant. The Tama is a Muslim group, but many of them combine their Islamic faith with variants of animism. The Chadian leader of the rebel group FUCD (Front Unique pour le Changement Démocratique) Mahamat Nour is from the Tama ethnic group.

The Tama has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.