Gula, also spelled ''Goula'', is an ethnic group who lives in

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

, and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. In the Central African Republic, they live in the northern regions of

Vakaga Vakaga is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Birao. It covers an area of 46,500 km and has a population of 37,595 (2003 census). The extremely low population density, less than 1 person/km, is a result o ...

Bamingui-Bangoran Bamingui-Bangoran is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. It covers an area of 58,200 km² and had a population of 38,437 as of the 2003 census. The population density of 0.66/km² is the lowest in the country. The capit ...

, and

Haute-Kotto Haute-Kotto is one of the 16 prefectures of the Central African Republic. Its capital is Bria. It is the largest prefecture in the Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in C ...

History

Gula people are believed to have originated from

Blue Nile The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water ...

region in Ethiopia. Around 1750, they migrated to

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

. In Darfur, the Gula people faced hostility from the

Fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

. Consequently, they migrated to an area near Lake Mamoun, Vakaga, in 1795. Lake Mamoun was chosen because there was plenty of fish, and the area was uninhabited before they arrived. In the 19th century, Gula people were often attacked by slave raiders from Darfur,

Dar al Kuti Dar al Kuti ('Dar al-Kuri' in some sources) was an Islamic state in the center and northwest of the present Central African Republic which existed from around 1830 until 17 December 1912. From around 1800 the name Dar al-Kuti was given to a stre ...

, and Kara. Moreover, they had to pay a tribute of 1,000 slaves, ivory, honey, and copper to Darfur. Enslavement of Gula reached its peak in 1890-1911 when Dar al Kuti's ruler, Muhammad al-Sanussi, sent slave raiders to the Gula region to obtain slaves and pillage the villages. Hence, by 1905, Vakaga was depopulated and Gula fled to either

N'Délé N'Délé or Ndele is a market town and sub prefecture in the north eastern Central African Republic, lying east of the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park. Ndélé is the capital of Bamingui-Bangoran, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African ...

Abéché Abéché ( ar, أبشه, ''Absha'') is the fourth largest city in Chad and is the capital of Ouaddaï Region. It has within it the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans. History The city of ...

. Gula only returned to Vakaga after France subjugated

in 1911. In 1926–1927, France ordered Gula to live in settlements along the Ouanda Djalle-Birao Road for defensive purposes. They also recruited Gula men for the

Congo–Ocean Railway The Congo–Ocean Railway (COR; french: Chemin de fer Congo-Océan, ) links the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noire (now in the Republic of Congo) with Brazzaville, a distance of . It bypasses the rapids on the lower Congo River; from Brazzaville, r ...

project. Some Gula refused to follow France's order and fled to

. Around 1960, Gula converted from animism to Islam. Nevertheless, they still retained some pre-Islam practices.

Groups

Gula is divided into two major groups and eight subgroups: Each sub-group has its dialect and Sara is the most distinct dialect.

Social life

Gula is a patrilineal society. For marriage, Gula allows

levirate Levirate marriage is a Types of marriages, type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage ...

marriage. Polygamy is common practice among Gula people.

Economic life

Gula people heavily rely on agriculture, hunting, and fishing for their livelihood. Millet, sorghum, and peanuts are the plants that the Gula people cultivate. They also made alcoholic beverages made from millet.

Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Central African Republic prefecture Bamingui-Bangoran, near the Chad border. It was inscribed to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1988 as a ...

is the place where Gula does their hunting activities. Nowadays, Gula also involve in diamond mining activity in Bria.

Notable people

* Arnaud Djoubaye Abazène, current minister of justice * Herbert Gontran Djono Ahaba, Central African politician and current minister of transport and civil aviation *

Michel Djotodia Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia (born c. 1949) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2013 to 2014. He was the first Muslim to hold that office in the predominantly Christian country. Djotodia was a l ...

, former president of

* Joseph Kalite, former minister of agriculture and health. *

Damane Zakaria Damane Zakaria was a Central African warlord, leader of Patriotic Rally for the Renewal of the Central African Republic armed group. Biography He was born as Moustapha Maloum in Boromata in Vakaga prefecture. He belonged to Goula ethnic group. ...

, Central African warlord and former leader of

Patriotic Rally for the Renewal of the Central African Republic Patriotic Rally for the Renewal of the Central African Republic (RPRC, french: Rassemblement Patriotique pour le Renouveau de la Centrafrique) was an armed group in the Central African Republic based in northern part of the country, in Ouadda and S ...

Joseph Zoundeiko General Joseph Zoundeiko (or Zindeko) (died 11 February 2017) was the leader of military wing of the Central African rebel militia alliance, Séléka. Born in Tiringoulou, Vakaga, he worked as a guard and tracker, securing parklands on the nort ...

, Central African warlord

References

Ethnic groups in the Central African Republic Ethnic groups in Chad {{CentralAfricanRepublic-stub