Masakwa dry season cropping in the Chad Basin

Title data

Zach, Barbara ; Kirscht, Holger ; Löhr, Doris ; Neumann, Katharina ; Platte, Editha:
Masakwa dry season cropping in the Chad Basin.
In: Sonderforschungsbereich Kulturentwicklung und Sprachgeschichte im Naturraum Westafrikanische Savanne (SFB 268) (ed.): Vorträge: Internationales Symposium - SFB 268 - Frankfurt/Main, 13.12.-16.12.1995. - Frankfurt am Main : Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg , 1996 . - pp. 349-356 . - (Berichte des Sonderforschungsbereichs 268 "Kulturentwicklung und Sprachgeschichte im Naturraum Westafrikanische Savanne" ; 8 )
ISBN 3-9803604-7-4

Project information

Abstract in another language

In the inundation area - the basin of the former larger Lake Chad - a special type of sorghum is grown on the clay soils (firgi). This dry-season guinea corn is also called dwarf sorghum or masakwa. In Kanuri, the dominant language in the region, sorghum is called ngawuli. The dry-season types are called ngawuli firgibe (lit. translated: sorghum of the firgi). During the dry season when the natural vegetation becomes dry and yellow, masakwa fields appear in prominent green covering large areas of the clay plains. The most important natural factor for this specialized dry season cropping is the presence of soils with a high clay content. For a better understanding of masakwa and its related issues, a multidisciplinary sub-project (G1) has been established within the SFB 268 (Joint Research Project: History of Culture and Language in the Natural Environment of the West-African Savannah). This project in which all disciplines participate is entitled: "Natural basis for masakwa cultivation and its meaning for the settlement history of the clay plains (firgi) in the Chad basin".