DEMOGRAPHIC PRESSURE AND DANGER TO SACRED SITES IN MONGÖ AND NGAMBAYE COUNTRIES IN SOUTHERN CHAD
Authors:
Clison NANGKARA
Abstract:
The Mongö and the Ngambaye are among the populations of the south of Chad who are very attached to their culture. The activities in the sacred sites cover the needs of the populations in all fields: health, education, politics, culture, economy, etc. By respecting a certain number of principles and prohibitions, sacred sites were well protected until recently. In recent decades, they have become a source of conflict between increasing numbers of people. Demographic pressure makes villages grow and leads to an increase in arable land. Population growth is encouraged by the influx of transhumant nomads, who, under the effect of climate change, are moving south in search of pasture. The localities hosting the sites we are studying are located in the oil exploitation zone to which sub-regional expatriates will flock until the 2010s in search of employment. These immigrants swell the populations whose presence is detrimental to the survival of the sacred sites. Their traditional way of management does not fit in with the State’s texts.