They live in the very heart of the Sahara, on the waterless plateaus of Tibesti and Tenere, where there is not even sand, because the scorching wind drives it away. The surrounding landscape resembles photographs of the lunar surface - lifeless craters, stones, nothingness. The nearest oasis with three dozen date palms is three hundred kilometers away.
And yet, the people of the Toubou tribe roam right here, at the junction of Chad, Niger and Libya. Some ethnographers believe that tubas are the oldest inhabitants of Africa. Last fall, an international expedition set off to visit them. Goal: try to reveal the riddle of the tuba.
This trip, organized by three Belgian universities, was anything but a walk. Two and a half thousand kilometers through the desert allowed scientists to verify from their own experience that tubas really live in extreme conditions - this term refers to the limit beyond which human life is impossible. None of the group would have been able to spend even a few days here if the expedition’s equipment had not included specially equipped tents, portable refrigerators with self-contained power supply, and all-terrain vehicles with air conditioning. But most doctors, ecologists and ethnographers had experience of several previous trips to remote corners of the world - in particular, to New Guinea and to the Amazon.
The main questions were: how do tubas resist dehydration? What do they eat? What ensures their fantastic endurance - nomads make treks of 80-90 kilometers across the rocky desert, where the temperature rarely drops below 45 degrees in the shade? If only a shadow could be found...
This is far from full list riddles, the keepers of which are the Tubu people. They have excellent longevity. Teeth are preserved until old age. They have an unusually low infant mortality rate for Africa.
The tubes are beautifully built. They have delicate facial features - a straight nose, smooth lips, lively eyes. True, from the constant bites of midges, which give no rest day or night, the whites of the eyes, especially in children, are constantly red.
The expedition set up a base camp in the town of Bilma; Tubu come there for salt, so that they can then transport it on camels to countries south of the Sahara.
Contacts with Tubu were established quickly. And when the pilot of a small plane assigned to the expedition offered the four elders a ride in a winged car, relations became completely friendly.
Doctors took blood for analysis - about four hundred samples, placed immediately in the refrigerator. Nutritionists carefully studied Tuba food. Already here the first surprises awaited the researchers. A local proverb says: "Tubu is content with a date a day - in the morning he eats the peel, in the afternoon he eats the pulp, and in the evening he eats the pit." The proverb turned out to be not far from the truth. The Tubu menu, which does not change throughout the year, consists of a thick herbal infusion like tea, which they drink for breakfast, a few dates for lunch, and a handful of boiled millet, to which sometimes palm oil or a sauce made from grated roots is added, for dinner. All.
During the caravan's journey, several doctors rode nearby in a jeep. “We couldn’t sit behind the wheel because we were tired,” recalls one of them. - And the tuba moved forward with measured steps. By the end of the 40-kilometer trek, my heart rate and blood pressure were the same as at the beginning.”
At the stop, the Tuba family was offered a taste of European-style meat broth. Having tasted it, the nomads began to spit in disgust. The taste of meat is unfamiliar to them. How can they survive without animal protein? Mystery.
All data obtained as a result of the trip to the Sahara will be carefully studied. But will a microscope and chemical analyzes help reveal the secret of the amazing endurance of desert inhabitants?
21.11.2013
In the Sahara, in its very center, at the junction of the borders of Libya, Chad and Niger, lives one of the oldest and most mysterious tribes in Africa - the Tubu. They live on the practically waterless plateaus of Tineri and Tibesti, from which even the sand is blown away by the scorching wind. There is a fantastic world around: extinct volcanoes, completely bare earth and stones. In some places you can see sand dunes. Oases are a great rarity in these places, in this kingdom of stones and sand. Living in such conditions is very, very difficult, but the Tubu tribe does not want to change anything.
These people have long adapted to such a life, and even make walking (!) treks of 100 km in one day and do not consider this any special merit. To say that tuba eat modestly is to say nothing. If we apply our standards to their diet, it will not stand up to any criticism. They eat only dates every day. Every day, all year round. And only on the biggest holidays they add boiled millet, barley, a little wheat and milk from goats and camels to their diet. Only on major holidays!
Tubu are vegetarians, and they never consume any animal food except milk. At the same time, no one collapses from fatigue, everyone has healthy (just a sight for sore eyes) teeth, even the elderly. And child mortality is the lowest in Africa. Tubu do not suffer from heart disease, despite year-round exposure to the sun. And here's the question. How do they survive to a very old age, living only on plant foods? In addition, this is how they eat during their treks on foot, when they go to the south of the desert to sell salt.
In the morning they drink only a herbal decoction, and follow the camels in a heat of 45 above zero and set off on their journey. By noon they cover up to 50 kilometers, moving without rest. A break under the scorching sun, lunch of a few dates and a mug of water - and again we were on the road. Having covered 90 kilometers in a day (a group of European explorers followed them through the desert in jeeps), we stopped for the night. For dinner, millet was cooked over a fire with palm oil and a gravy made from the roots of some plants. And nothing more. The next morning they were ready to go again.
So what is the secret of their life and exceptional endurance? And in dates. If there are no dates to eat, there will be no Tubu tribe. They eat them three times a day. Scientists have long established that eating only dates and water, a person can live for several years without harm to his health. After all, this fruit is a champion in the content of microelements and vitamins. Date protein is easily digestible, increasing immunity and overall endurance of the body.
Colonel's Strategic Reserves
Probably the preparation for the upcoming “Friday in Tripoli” began not even today, but last night and its dawn is such that you do not have time to be surprised by the information received.
It was previously said that fierce fighting was going on around international airport in Tripoli, where the main forces were dug in foreign mercenaries and services, Let me remind you, called the “green zone” of the airport.
It is around this “green zone” that fierce, if not the main, battles are taking place, with the use of longer-range missiles and other equipment. There is nothing new in this either, if not for one “but”….
The fighting here is being conducted by the “Green Guard from the Tubu tribe”! It's the most important. It is most important. Below I have given a minimum of information (Google will help) on this ancient tribe in Africa, considered on a par with the Tuaregs as great warriors of the Sahara. And I don’t know here whether the Colonel gave them the airport to be torn to pieces or Tuba set a condition - “Colonel, give us a specific goal”! But one of two things is certain.
The strength of the onslaught of the Tubu warriors is such that the mercenaries, dressed in civilian clothes, and some of them in women's clothing, flee from this hell created by the Tubu tribe.
Because the areas around the airport are blocked and Members of the Resistance are already identifying these “maidens.” And these fighters already have “dossiers” on them in their hands.
The fighting in Tripoli and the military operation throughout the airport area continue.
P.S. I have already cited here more than once references to N. Sologubovsky, who lived and worked for many years in this region, in the Sahara. And he knows the local residents not from reference books. So, from the first days of the war, he stated more than once that those who got involved in this war in Libya do not even understand who they are fighting against. That is, the “matrix” of Africa is such that the visible tribes of Libya are nothing against its true tribal ties throughout the continent.
These “connections” came “in touch” - the Tubu tribe, like the early Tuareg.
The Rafla (Warfalla) tribes have also “woke up” and, according to the rabbit breeder, have made a deal with the PNS, which is why they are behaving “modestly”! This is probably a “Mata Hari” report to him ala.
But according to my information, it was the Colonel’s order: sit quietly! The strategic reserve was called under Stalin. And only a narrow-minded person could assume that the Colonel did not know such things.
So the Colonel brings his reserves into the battle. And think now, WHO is the Colonel for these peoples and tribes of Africa? And who in this influence can compare with him in ... history, with such authority?
P.S. The leader of the Warfalla tribe was brutally murdered in his home. He was a calm and wise old man (Leoner, who knew him from his speeches at the congress of tribes, writes about him), who always advocated the rapprochement of Libya.He never used a weapon.
I think now this tribe will give these mercenaries and Al Qaeda real hell. And not only in Libya already...
****
Toubou (Tibbu, Theda) (translated from Arabic as “rock man”) are a people living in Central Sahara (mainly in the Republic of Chad, small groups in Niger and Libya). Number of people: more than 350 thousand people. They are divided into two main groups: Teda (in the north) and Daza (in the south). They speak Tubu, a language belonging to the Saharan family (Nilo-Saharan macrofamily). They profess Islam.
Some ethnographers believe that the Tubu tribe is the oldest tribe in Africa that has developed its own traditions and culture.
One of the issues of the magazine “Around the World” tells that representatives of this people are incredibly hardy: they live on the waterless high-mountain Tibesti plateau in high temperatures, can go for a long time without food, and the diet itself does not include animal proteins. Moreover, in the opinion of a European, it is rather meager, and consists of tea infused with desert herbs, “a few dates and a handful of millet.” Nevertheless, representatives of the people live a very long time and “retain all their teeth until a very old age.”
Tubu woman
💥 Long-livers of the Sahara Desert: the people of this nation puzzled European researchers. 💥
The endurance of the Tubu people is legendary.
The Tubu live in the heart of the Sahara, at the junction of Chad, Niger and Libya, on the waterless highland Tibesti plateau.
They tolerate 50-degree heat well,
can go for a long time without food, while making long treks through the desert.
This people has a fairly long life expectancy and a low infant mortality rate.
Last fall, an international expedition set out to study the mysterious people.
This trip, organized by three Belgian universities, was anything but a walk.
The surrounding landscape resembled photographs of the lunar surface - lifeless craters, rocks, nothingness.
The nearest oasis with three dozen date palms is three hundred kilometers away.
Scientists traveled together with the nomadic people on a 2.5 km long journey and became convinced that the living conditions of the Tubu are truly extreme.
None of the group could have spent even a few days there,
if the expedition’s equipment did not include specially equipped tents, self-powered portable refrigerators and air-conditioned all-terrain vehicles.
Scientists were interested in how tubas resist dehydration? What do they eat?
What ensures their fantastic endurance is that nomads make treks of 80-90 kilometers across the rocky desert, where the temperature rarely drops below 45 degrees in the shade, if shade can be found.
At the same time, tubas are distinguished by their longevity, which is enviable for Africa, and they retain their teeth into old age.
The tubes are beautifully built.
They have delicate facial features - a straight nose, even lips, lively eyes. True, due to the annoying midges, which give no rest day or night, the whites of the eyes, especially in children, are constantly red.
The expedition set up a base camp in the town of Bilma;
Tubu come there for salt, so that they can then transport it on camels to countries south of the Sahara.
Contacts with Tubu were established quickly.
And when the expedition pilot offered the four elders a ride in a winged car, relations became completely friendly.
Doctors took blood for analysis - about four hundred samples, placed immediately in the refrigerator.
Nutritionists have tried to study diet. Already here the first surprises awaited them.
A local saying goes: “Tubu is content with a date a day - in the morning he eats the skin, in the afternoon he eats the pulp, and in the evening he eats the pit.” The saying turned out to be not far from the truth.
The Tubu menu, which does not change throughout the year, consists of a thick herbal infusion that they drink for breakfast,
a few dates for lunch and a handful of boiled millet,
to which palm oil or sauce made from grated roots is sometimes added - for dinner. All.
The expedition moved through the desert in jeeps.
“We couldn’t sit behind the wheel because of fatigue,” recalls one of the doctors, “and the tuba moved forward at a measured pace.
By the end of the 40-kilometer trek, their heart rate and blood pressure were the same as at the beginning. We were shocked."
At the stop, the Tuba family was offered a taste of European-style meat broth.
Having tasted it, the nomads began to spit in disgust.
The taste of meat is unfamiliar to them.
How can they survive without animal protein? Scientists thought for a long time.
All data obtained as a result of the trip to the Sahara will be carefully studied.
But will a microscope and chemical analyzes help reveal the secret of the amazing endurance of desert inhabitants?
________________________________________
ABOUT THE TUBU PEOPLE
Tubu man
TUBU (“Tibestian” in Kanuri), Tebu, Tibbu, Theda, Goran, people in Chad, Niger and Libya . They live in Central Sahara, in the Tibesti Highlands and neighboring territories (from the Murzuk oasis in the north to the Bahr el-Ghazal region in the south and from the Air plateau in the west to the Kufra oasis in the east). Number of Chad 430 thousand people, in Niger 20 thousand people, in Libya 5 thousand people. Zaghawa and Kanuri are related. They speak the Tubu language (Tebu, Goran or Daza) of the Saharan group of the Nilo-Saharan family. Dialects: Dazaga, Tedaga. Tubu are Sunni Muslims. The division into sub-ethnic groups remains: the Teda (Tubu-Tu) in the Tibesti highlands and the Daza (Annakaza) south of the Teda.
The Teda people raise camels and goats, and practice manual farming (wheat, barley, millet) on small irrigated plots, as well as hunting and gathering the fruits of wild date palms. The Daza, living on the border with the agricultural zone of the savannas, combine pastoralism (cattle and small cattle) with irrigated agriculture (date palm, grains, vegetables). Tubu crafts include weaving, leather processing (saddles, bags, shoes, vessels) and metal. The lifestyle is semi-sedentary or semi-nomadic.
Nomadic pastoralists live in portable dwellings made of a light wooden frame covered with mats. Permanent settlements of farmers consist of round adobe dwellings with a conical thatched roof.
The basis of traditional social organization is large-family communities and patronymics. The account of kinship is patrilineal. The marriage settlement is virilocal. Polygyny and cross-cousin marriages are practiced; Cross-cousin marriages are prohibited. Society is stratified into nobles (m'bang), free (n'gar) and dependents (bere). Councils under the leaders (ngarta) play an important role.
Of the main genres of folklore, the most common are fairy tales, proverbs and songs.
Men's clothing is a very wide and long white or yellow shirt (arraghi) with a square neckline and tight trousers (surual), sandals and a small cap or turban; women's clothing is a long colored dress or skirt, scarf.
Human possibilities are limitless. The incredible people of the Toubou people, living in the harsh conditions of the Sahara Desert, make you believe this. They are deprived of sufficient water, their faces are burned by the hot desert air, and their food is meager and lacking in variety. But they can stay in the sun all day, and their health and life expectancy can be the envy of citizens of the most highly developed countries in the world.
Everyone knows that the Sahara is not the most comfortable place to live on our planet. But the part where the Tubu settled is characterized by particularly harsh conditions. This people lives in three countries: Chad, Libya and Niger. But the majority of the representatives of this people, whose number is 300-350 thousand people, live in the territory of northwestern Chad. In the center of the region is the desert rocky Tibesti highlands with altitudes ranging from 1000 to 3000 meters above sea level. Rain in this place is very rare, and the average amount of precipitation per year is no more than 50 mm. For comparison: in sunny Astrakhan this figure is about 220 millimeters per year. Beyond the borders of the highlands, precipitation falls somewhat more, and here rivers even flow for several weeks, which, however, quickly turn into dry hollows. In such arid conditions and poor sandy soil, only date palms grow well, the fruits of which are an important part of the diet of the Tubu people.
The Toubou people are divided into two ethnic groups: the Teda, who live in southern Libya, and the Daza, who live mainly in the north of Chad and Niger. These branches of the Tubu people speak different but related languages belonging to the same Sahrawi language family. The way of life of these people is not much different from that led by their ancestors hundreds of years ago. Where they allow natural conditions, the Tuba grow crops such as millet, barley and wheat along the beds of temporary watercourses. In oases, where there are sources of water, Tuba plant figs and dates, which are almost their national dish. There is even a popular proverb on this topic: “Tubu is content with a date a day: in the morning he eats the peel, in the afternoon he eats the pulp, and in the evening he eats the pit.”
But the majority of the Tubu people are engaged in nomadic cattle breeding and caravan trade, which is a more honorable occupation than farming. In conditions of sparse vegetation and the absence of adequate pastures, the Tubu manage to breed camels and goats, whose milk supplements their meager diet. Camels in general are the most important part of Tubu life. They transport salt and other goods, as they did thousands of years ago, because in this part of the Sahara there are no full-fledged highways. In addition, camels provide skin for making various household items, wool and meat, so without them the people of the Sahara simply cannot survive in such difficult conditions.
Although the Tuba are Muslim, some of them follow traditional beliefs, and many of their customs are not as strict as those in some Islamic countries. This is especially true for women, who play no less important role in the family than men. Tubu women are not required to cover their heads with a headscarf, and when deciding important family issues, their voice is often decisive.
Interestingly, Tubu men are able to cover 80-90 kilometers a day, following along with camel caravans under the mercilessly scorching sun. Eating dates and washing down all this “abundance of food” with strong herbal tea, Tubu are able to make multi-day treks through the desert and feel great. Belgian scientists who accompanied the nomads on one of their campaigns monitored the health of these hardy people. The entire scientific expedition almost failed due to the fact that the Europeans, traveling in comfortable jeeps equipped with everything necessary for a comfortable trip, felt very bad by the evening of the first day. But the Tubu, who had walked the 80-kilometer journey, looked the same as at the beginning of the day, and their blood pressure, pulse and other indicators of the cardiovascular system were absolutely fine. In addition, according to studies, the Tuba maintain excellent health into old age, and infant mortality rates among this people are the lowest in Africa.
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