Zaghawa

Also known as: Beri (self-name)

Language family: Zaghawa (Nilo-Saharan)

Known to themselves as the Beri, the Zaghawa are a historically nomadic and trading people whose homeland straddles the Sudan–Chad border in northern Darfur. Early Arabic chronicles describe them holding sway over a wide stretch of the Sahel between Lake Chad and Darfur before the rise of the Darfur and Kanem-Bornu sultanates. Zaghawa society is organized around patrilineal clans and age-based social structures, with livelihoods built on herding and cross-border trade. The Zaghawa were heavily targeted during the Darfur conflict beginning in 2003, with many displaced into refugee camps in Chad.