History of Bilala People of Chad.

 

Bilala People can be found in Chad, they are also known as Bulala and they are part of the Nilo- Saharan group, Bilala Naba is divided into four dialects, It is shared by two of their neighbors in Central Chad such as the Kuka and Medogo . 

They grow crops such as millet , sorghum , cotton , manioc a shrubby plant widely grown for its large , tuberous , stachy roots , In their Culture women have their own lands and they cultivate vegetables as well some practice hunting , they keep sheep , donkeys , horses , camels and other cattles , milking of cows and they use the milk to make butter and cheese , women are very caring, helpful, they help their husbands with farming.

 In their tradition each village is under a chief , the chief and elders are in charge and also they built round huts which have mudbricks, mat walls and cone shaped with thatch roofs .  

According to Bilala Oral history they first appeared in the 14th Century near lake Fitri as a nomadic clan led by scions of the Sayfawa dynasty , they were believed to be originally a political entity that came about as a result of fusion of Kayi which is old Zaghawa Present day Kanembu.

 the clan exist even today in Present day Kanem , Ngizimis Kanembu clan , which also exists even in modern day Dibbinintchi , Lake Tchad Inhabitants of the Fittri region settled east of the Kanem Empire.

It is believed they shattered empire’s power five out of six of Kanem’s Kings were killed and died in war between 1376 and 1400. 

 According to Anthropologist Joshua “Lisi” is a term used to describe three ethnic groups living in the same geographical regions of Kuka, Bilala and Medogo. 

 They speak similar languages with the Kuka and Medego , they had intermarriages , share the same Indigenous Spirituality or belief , similar traditions and they are located around Lake Fitri and oum Handjer , the three ethnic groups are descendants of a Yao Sultanate .  

During the 1400s, Yao was founded by Bilala including the culture and language It is believed they are of African and Yemeni origins and in the 1600s , they conquered the Kuka and settled on their land also they are considered as the most dominant in Present day Chad.

Polygamy is practiced the act of having more than one wife and a young girl will live in the mother’s hut until she is older enough to get married , a boy reaches adulthood they are undergo Intiation.

 According to other accounts they read Qur’an and It is believed among Bilala they read other books which is approved by Allah’s servant , Bilala People believed they have both African and Yemeni Ancestors and their customs and culture were acquired through Intermarraiges.

 It is said the Kingdom of Kanuri the Kanem- Bornu Empire started with the Dynasty of Sayfawa , which was founded by Say fibn Yazan alos known as Sef Dhu Ifa Zan which is the son of Dhu, Ifazan who was described as an Arab a Yemeni , however before the arrival of Sayf himself the Kanuri People were already existing around Lake Chad area as far back as the 7th Century and absorbing both Indigenous Nilo- Saharan and Chadic Afro- Asiatic speakers or languages resulting in the emergence of the Kanuri language but until the 9th Century that they united with the people of Kanem under the leadership of Sayft Ibn Dhi Yazan to form the Sayfawa dynasty of the Kanem- Bornu Empire, Yazan’s dynasty ruled and controlled the Kanem Empire for about 800 years with the town of Njimi located in the north- eastern part of the Lake Chad as its first capital the Sayfawa dynasty and their subjects later fled to Birimin Gazargamu remained as the capital even after reclaiming of the city of Njimi in the 16th Century.

 However over the year’s towns and cities like Monguno , Kukawa, Dikwa , Old Maidugri and now Yerwa Maiduguri were all the capitals of Kanem- Bornu Empire expansion peaked during the long and energetic reign of Mai Dunama Dabbalemi from 1221- 1259, Dabbalemi intiated diplomatic exchange with the Sultans in North Africa and apparently arranged for the establishment of a special hostel and a college in Cairo.

 Egypt Msira in order to exchange Knowledge with the Egyptians and also to facilitate the people of Kanem- Bornu Empire travelling to the cities of Makkah also spelled as Mecca and Madinah also referred as Medina in Hjiaz Present day Saudi Arabia to perform the holy Islamic pilgrimage , this development in Cario means that the Bornu pilgrims travelers to Makkah through Cairo passes through the Suez Canal , arriving at the Sinai Peninsula and finally crossing over the red sea via Sham el Sheikh to arrive in Saudi Arabia and sometimes they even cross through Palestine and Jordan directly to have arrived in Saudi Arabia Makkah.

 Mai Dabbalemi also reigned the Fezzan region in Present day Libya during his rule and it is believed he made the journey to Cairo much easier and making history logical and geo- historically or more understandable later the Empire ‘s influence extended Southwestward to Kirikasamma , Malummadori , Hadejia down to Kano, eastward to wadai , and southward to Adamawa grasslands with many parts in the present day Cameroon republic including the towns or areas of Kousiri , Kolofata, Garoua and Maroua some include the territories of Rhumsiki and Mora also in Present day Cameroon as part of ancient Kanem- Bornu .  

Bilala’s national park is teeming with elephants, lions , buffalos , zebras and giraffes and the home of many early human ancestor traces of their existence have been found in Present day Chad as the remains of Sathelanthropus Tchadensis.