The Lambas are an ethnic and linguistic group of people living in the Kéran and Doufelgou Districts (''Préfecture'') of the

Kara Region Kara is one of Togo's five regions. Kara is the regional capital. Other major cities in the Kara region include Bafilo, Bassar, and Niamtougou. Kara is divided into the prefectures of Assoli, Bassar, Bimah, Dankpen, Doufelgou, Kéran, and ...

in Northern

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

and in the Atakora and Donga Departments of

Bénin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

, West Africa. The capital of the Kéran District is

Kanté Kanté is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aboubakary Kanté (born 1994), Gambian-French footballer * Cédric Kanté (born 1979), Malian-French footballer * Daouda Kanté (born 1978), Malian footballer * Guyan Kanté (born 1 ...

and the capital of the

Doufelgou Doufelgou is a Prefectures of Togo, prefecture located in the Kara Region of Togo. The capital city is Niamtougou. Doufelgou means White Mountain (white= felm & mountain= dour). The Cantons of Togo, cantons (or subdivisions) of Doufelgou includ ...

District is

Niamtougou Niamtougou is a market town in and district capital of Doufelgou District (Préfecture), in the Kara Region of Togo. It is located north of Kara (Togo), Kara on the nation's main north–south road, national road (Route Nationale). Niamtougou ma ...

. In Togo, the Lambas live the Center and West of the Kéran District; in the

Togo Mountains The Togo Mountains is a mountain range which stretches across the central region of the West African country of Togo and across the eastern and western borders of that country into Ghana and Benin. In Ghana, the range is also known as the Akwapim ...

on the Défalé Chain; in the Western reaches of Doufelgou District; in Eastern reaches of Doufelgou District North of the Binah River: and, in Niamtougou, in the Villages of Yaka and Agbandé. In Bénin, the Lambas live in and around Boucoumbé (Boukamtié) in the

Atakora Department Atakora is the northwesternmost department of Benin. Externally it borders Togo to the west and Burkina Faso to the north; internally it borders the departments of Alibori, Borgou and Donga. Major towns in the Atakora include Natitingou and Tan ...

and near

Djougou Djougou is the largest city in northwestern Benin. It is an important market town. The commune covers an area of 3,966 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 181,895 people. Djougou is home to a constituent monarchy. General infor ...

and

Bassila Bassila is a town, arrondissement, and commune located in the Donga Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 120 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 130,770 people. The RNIE 3 highway of Benin passes through the town o ...

in the

Donga Department Donga is one of the twelve departments of Benin; its capital is Djougou, the fourth largest city in the country. The department of Donga was created in 1999 when it was split off from Atakora Department. Donga is subdivided into five communes, ea ...

. They also live in diaspora zones in the Central and Plateaux Regions of Togo, in border areas of Ghana, and in the capital cities of

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

and

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

People

The Lambas are primarily engaged in

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

and small animal husbandry, especially chickens, guinea fowl, goats, pigs, and sheep. They grow

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

and

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

that they make into a thick porridge (''la pâte'') that is the staple of their diet and that they brew into thick low-alcohol beer. They also grow yams and

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, and

fonio Fonio is the term for two cultivated grasses in the genus ''Digitaria'' that are notable crops in parts of West Africa. They are millets with small grains. Fonio is a nutritious food with a favorable taste. It is consumed mainly in West African ...

. The Lambas have migrated in search of fertile available land in Togo to the area along the North-South National Road No. 1 between Sokodé and Notsé, where they have founded numerous communities. In addition, they have migrated to Togo's capital city, Lomé, and the economic capital of Bénin, Cotonou, in search of wage employment. Lamba men served in the colonial armies of Germany, Britain, and France as well as in the Togolese and Beninese armies in the years following the independences of the two countries. The Lambas refer to themselves and to their Language as Lama. Lamba is the name attributed to them in French and that continues to be used in the administration. In addition, all of the inhabitants of the Doufelgou District of Togo were designated as Lossos by the colonial administration, including people who identify themselves as Lama and Nawdba. Therefore, Lambas from the Doufelgou District are still frequently called Losso. The two populations have exercised considerable mutual influence but their languages are different and do not resemble each other.

Language

The Lambas speak a collection of closely related dialects that are grouped together as the

Lama language Lama is a Gur language spoken by the Lamba people in Togo, Benin, and by a few in Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. There are approximately 200,000 native speakers of Lama in Togo and Bénin. Lama most closely resembles the

Kabiyé language Kabye may refer to: * Kabye people * Kabye language Kabiye (; also rendered ''Kabiyé'', ''Kabiyè'', ''Kabye'', ''Kabyé'', ''Kabyè'', ''Cabrai'' or ''Cabrais'') is an Eastern Gurunsi Gur language spoken primarily in northern Togo. Throughout ...

spoken by the Kabiyé people in the Kozah and Binah Districts of Togo as well as in diaspora points. Lama an
Kabiyé
are classified under th
Grusi, Eastern
cluster of th
Gur (or ''Voltaique'')
group of th
Niger-Congo
languages. Also included in this cluster are Tem (Cotokoli), Bagou-Koussountou, Lukpa (Logba or Dompago), Delo (Ntribou), and Chala. Speakers of this cluster of languages constitute 28% of the population of Togo and are the second most widely spoken cluster of languages in Togo after the Gbé cluster that includes Éwé, Mina, and Waci. {{authority control Ethnic groups in Togo Ethnic groups in Benin