Masa people, also called Masana, Banana, or Yagoua are a Chadic ethnic group in

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and

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 ...

. The Masa have an estimated population of 266,000 to 469,000, with the majority residing in

. Most of them speak Masana. The Masa form part of the Chadic people. People Groups
Retrieved June 03, 2013, to 14: 25 pm.

Culture

Religion

45% of the population is

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, and other 45% is

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Thirty percent are mainline Catholics or Protestants; another fifteen percent are Evangelical Christians. There are often clashes between the different religious groups.

Formalised fighting over livestock or honour

In many cases there have been pitched battles between Masa from Cameroon and Masa from Chad. These clashes result in many wounded. The battles are often caused by the theft of cows, because livestock are extremely important in social relations and especially in the "marriage exchanges" of the society. An act of adultery can also be a catalyst for Masa groups to go to war. Men who participate in the battles have helmets and clubs. They use sticks and stones as weapons and fight in lines while they are encouraged by women. In the battle between two groups of Masa, several rules must be met: collect the wounded from combat; do not hit a man on the ground nor one who is wounded. The fighting must end at dusk. Injured people usually are cured by traditional

healers Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and al ...

, who cure through several techniques which they exercise with local resources. Women who participate in this kind of fight acquire prestige in Masa society.Pitched battle in Gueme between the Massa of Cameroon and Massa of Chad
NCBI, Retrieved June 03, 2013

References

{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Cameroon Far North Region (Cameroon) Ethnic groups in Chad Mayo-Kebbi Est Region