Do not try to look at the Libyan mosaics just once. You have to look deeper to learn that Libya's cultural and racial background is a huge mix of diversity. The surrounding nature of people on African Mediterranean soil has helped to strengthen this cultural and ethnological heritage.
More than 55,000 citizens are settled in the southern part of Libya and along with the eastern parts of Chad, Niger, and Sudan, where the Tebuians are gathered as nomadic and semi-nomadic people to search for living and safety in this region. In addition, there are many Libyan cities in which the people of the Tabu are settled between the South-Eastern border and non-border areas (Al-Qatron, Marzaq, Kufra, Rabbanah, Sabha, Jahra, Muskouda, Madurah, Komozo, Tigray, Zilla, Ngharknami).
The name "Tebu" comes from the word "Tenno", which was called by their neighbouring Egyptians, as they are also called the name of Qaraan, whose origin dates back to the eighth century AD to the word "Qoran", whose areas in previous times as the most important channels for transporting goods and one of the most visited areas for travelers and Sightseers. They are also one of the oldest people of the African Saharan region, whose presence is more than thirty thousand years through the last fossils and Amazonian stones found carved on the mountains of Tibisti and the south-eastern region of the Libyan desert, and it is also known that Tebu people knew Islam later on following other local religions that prevailed previously among the people of Africa, where the late Islam became mystic and ascetic and prevalent today among them.
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In an interview with Ms.Tabawiya Soga, Chairman of the Committee on Heritage and Folklore Center of Comparative Studies, which talks about the power of Tebuian folklore to Libya's former sociology until the present time.
The life of the Tebuian tribes is rich in the customs and traditions that have existed since ancient times. This is confirmed by Herodotus when he said that the Greeks have transferred some of their customs from the Libyans
The archaeological remains revealed by the archeologists are evidence that Libya was in close contact with the greatest ancient civilizations and when studying these customs transferred from the ancestors generation after generation, we find that some of the original found since ancient times, including what is an outsider remnant of ancient civilizations nearby and some Is linked to the religions that existed on its territory and were embraced by Libyans throughout the ages.
Ms. Soga continues that the popular costumes of all kinds have been included in the development, as happened to other aspects of life, whether in the countryside or in cities and rural areas since they were simple in their services, their fabric, their preparation and even in their shapes and colors. They are made from expensive fabrics and complex embellishments The hand of the skilled craftsman has been touched by refinement, decoration, elegance and so on.
As well as the musical instruments and textiles that reflect the benefit of the African continent and the bridges of communication between us and the continent of Africa at first glance that there is a difference in customs and traditions, but when we focus on cultural heritage we find that customs and traditions are not different and there is a great similarity between Tebu and the people of the continent, but only different Dialects.
The Tebus celebrate at the 15th September of culture day, in which all kinds of special costumes are worn in popular or traditional dresses in Libya, which has a variety of shapes and colors. Some of these costumes are for adults, some for children, others are unique for only Youth of both sexes each separately, and there is a special fashion for each season of the year, for work and other social events like holidays and seasons.
The phonetic language of Tebu consists of 32 characters, most of which have different vocal exits. They are used by Tebuian residents living in eight African regions, where it is written in Latin as other languages, such as Turkish, Indonesian, German, etc. The implicit differences between the Tebuian and the Arabic languages are in the constants and vowels of the two languages, where the vowels of the Tebuian (it’s traits) are more diverse than that of Arabic, while the Arabic has three vocals and three signs of the vowels, in contrast, Tebuian has a range of twelve signs and vocals.
Tebu language is divided into two main dialects:
1 - Tidaga, the dialect spoken by "Toda" the people of the south of Libya and the mountains of Tibesti and oases of north-eastern Niger and the basin of Ayr.
2. Dazaga, the dialect of "Dzagada", the inhabitants of Enidi, Brcko, Bataa, Kannem, Manda, and Ayr.
It is also one of the most important desert languages of the Nile, plus most important tools of communication between the tribes of the cousins of the desert and are the only distinguishing mark that combines the population of the Tebuian, despite the difference of geographical boundaries and their scattered demographics.
Many linguists try to adapt the alphabets from Latin to Arabic arguing that the Tebu language is the closest to the Arabic-speaking areas of the African and the Saharans. This, according to the historians and authors of the Nile Desert languages, is difficult and incompatible with the basic principles of the language. The ancient Arabic documents and manuscripts were written in Latin letters only. The language faced many challenges, including attempts at forced Arabization, which the former governments of Libya tried to perform, and replace many of the known Names of the Tebu icons as his Orbdn and Dmora that arabized to Albidan, also the town Mushaoa called today "QULAIB".
Hami is a poetic art that is practiced by women to praise relatives and to boast of ancestors and origin. It is also mentioned in their tournaments, in which the opponents are oppressed, it is also practiced on various occasions such as weddings, circumcision events or other. The women of the "Hami" group form a circle, Rhythm maestro, while the rest applaud and chant singing along, which gradually accompanied the coming of some women of the group, and in different periods outside and they jump and turn around themselves with a buzzing sound, accompanied by a rapid pace of applause and singing until they reenacted the former pace in the format of a group, which amuses listeners and viewers.
Shala is also a poetic art that specializes in elderly women, and sing Chalali also in festive social events.
Alnaqqara is a type of drum that strikes twice to produce noisy rhythms, a tradition used to attract the attention of the crowd to tell them something important, or to prepare for war or something like that.
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The pursuit of civil and constitutional rights is similar to national struggles and populist resistance around the world and in many countries where ethnic and religious minorities live. Today, the people of Tebu are suffering from civil freedom and political life in the southern regions, The Libyan citizen has the right to obtain the Libyan identity card, the interpretation of the accused in the Libyan courts, and the licenses to conduct business. This is part of a series of arbitrary decisions, similar to other Amazighs and Tuaregs, in the deliberate assimilation of indigenous cultures within mixed societies and in support of monotheism alone.
According to this timetable, laws and decisions dating from 1984 to 2014 demonstrate the attempts of successive regimes and governments to Libya eliminating and restricting them:
In an interview with the member of the constitution drafting committee, and human rights activist. Ma. Khaled Wahli tells us in this interview the most important stops the Tabu went through from his legal perspective.
After the majority in the Constitution Drafting Committee rejected the principle of consensus stipulated in the constitutional declaration and ignored the indigenous languages, he said, the Tebu would not give up their struggle to obtain their rights. We do not demand a grant or a gift from "Tebu are Libyan citizens like others." We will not accept to be second-class citizens as we were in the time of marginalization and segregation. What we are demanding today is not new. These demands have already been implemented in many countries of the world and neighboring countries, which have recognized the rights of indigenous minorities.
Mr. Wahli continues: "The Tebu faced many challenges from the era of Qadhafi to the post-February revolution, which was and still is not without questioning the citizenship and affiliation of the Tabu in Libya, not to mention the repetitive demands of official bodies to withdraw Libyan nationality from them.
