Gouran

Toubou
Gorane

Toubou man travelling in the desert
Total population
725,000
Regions with significant populations
Chad	375,000
Libya	52,000
Niger	125,710
Sudan	150,000
Languages
Tebu (Tedaga,Dazaga)
Religion
Islam (Sunni)

The Toubou or Tubu (from Old Tebu, meaning "Rock People") are an ethnic group inhabiting northern Chad, southern Libya, northeastern Niger and northwestern Sudan. They are generally studied as two closely related groups: the Teda (or Téda, Toda) and the Dazagra (or Dazaga, Dazagara, Daza). The Teda of the Toubou live in the far north of Chad, around the borders of Libya and Niger and the Tibesti Mountains. The Dazagra people are found in northern Chad and part of eastern Niger and northwestern Sudan. The Toubou people speak the Tebu languages, from the Saharan branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family.

The Toubou number approximately 725,000 and are Muslims. They live either as herders and nomads, or as farmers near oases. Their society is clan-based, with each clan having certain oases, pastures and wells.

The Toubou people are also referred to as the Tibu, Tibbu, Tebu, Tubu, Tebou, Todga, Todaga, Toda, Tuda, Umbararo and Tudaga people. The Dazaga are sometimes referred to as Gouran (or Gorane, Gourane), which is the name given to them by Arabs. Many of Chad's leaders have been Toubou, including presidents Goukouni Oueddei and Hissène Habré.

The Toubou people have historically lived in northern Chad, northwestern Niger and southern Libya. The Toubou people are distributed across a large area in the central Sahara, as well as the north-central Sahel. They are particularly found north of the Tibesti mountains, which in Old Tebu means "Rocky Mountains." Their name is derived from this. The Toubou people have sometimes been called the "black nomads of the Sahara".

The Toubou are studied in two groups: the Teda (or Toda) and the Dazagra. They are believed to share a common origin and speak two closely related languages called Tedaga (Téda Toubou) and Dazaga (Dazaga Toubou), both Nilo-Saharan languages. Of the two groups, the Daza, found to the south of the Teda, are the most numerous with a population of 358,000, while the Teda number only 47,000.