Introduction / History The Mubi live east of the Abou Telfane Mountains and south of the Massalit in the Prefecture Mangalme (district). They are divided into three cantons (political communities): Mubi Hadaba in the north, Mubi Zarga in the south and Mubi Goz in the east. They live in 135 small villages fortified by thornhedges around the town of Mangalme.
What are their lives like? They grow millet, sorghum, sesame, beans, cotton, and peanuts. Their territory is regularly crossed by the Missiriye Arabs, a Djoheina subtribe, with whom they exchange goods and services. The Mubi have since the 1960s taken up cattle raising. Each village has a herd, which is put in the care of a communal herdsman or a group of young men who take the animals to winter in the wadis (seasonally dry streambeds). Furthermore, they raise goats, sheep, donkeys and horses.
Intermarriage is common with all neighboring ethnic groups, such as Masmadje, Birgit, Dadjo and Misirie. Generally, it is forbidden to marry to Haddat Arabs, the blacksmiths.
Women from other ethnic groups have to learn the Mubi language. A majority use Arabic as a second language for communication with people from other language groups.
Since 1965 the Mubi have played a role in the rebellion against the government. The subprefecture Mangalme was created in the late 1970s to maintain law and order in the area.
Guéra region: Guéra department, Mangalmé subprefecture, east of Mongo, centered in Mangalmé area,135 villages; also large area in Batha Region. (Source: Ethnologue 2016)