Tontines cut across all divides

“In the conflict-torn Skanit district, a tontine group led by Achta Nguebla shows the way to concord.”

Polarisation in Chad is a fact of life, with people still tense over identity, region, and religion. However, there are factors that depolarise and promote harmony, such as the tontine. In Skanit, an old cosmopolitan neighbourhood in the commune of Koundoul (25 km from the capital N’Djamena), Muslims and Christians, northerners and southerners, live together. Misunderstandings are part of the daily life of the inhabitants. One day, an argument broke out between two young people, Hamran and Ngakoutou, each from a different region and religion. This banal dispute ended in a pitched battle at the end of which Achta Nguebla, the leader of a tontine group, mediated to reconcile the two.

“I was on my way home from a football match at around 6pm on 2 September 2020. I stopped to urinate behind the wall opposite our house. Hamra came out of his house, saw me and said to me: “Hey Sara! Kirdi da ogod tit boul.” A Chadian Arabic term which literally translates as: “Kirdi (a pejorative term in Chadian Arabic used to describe a miscreant) you have to sit down to urinate.” “Sara” refers to the large etnic group living in southern Chad. Shocked by these insults, Ngakoutou retorted violently by raising his voice: “Hey abit da ana radjil ma nagot tit ni boul (I’m a man so I don’t need to sit down to urinate).” The altercation ended in a brawl and Hamra stabbed Ngakoutou in the right hand. Alerted by the screams of a woman who was observing the scene from a distance, several people came out to see what was going on. Among those visibly surprised were family members of the two men. Family members from bot sides mobilised and lined up behind their sons.

Tensions ran high until the police intervened. After a few warning shots, calm was restored. Hamra was taken to the police station and Ngakoutou was taken to hospital. The next day, at the police station for the trial, the two parties presented themselves with the same ardour and stared at each other. The commissioner declared himself incompetent to reconcile the two parties. He wanted to draw up a report to send the case to court. Achta Nguebla asked the commissioner to allow her a few minutes to consult with a the women of both families before any deliberation. “I beg you, my dear sisters and my dear children, take courage and leave this problem behind. Think of our collaboration in the neighbourhood. Think especially of our tontine group. Last week we were all together at Denemadji’s house in a festive atmosphere.” “With these words, Achta convinced both sides not to give in to anger but to emphasise their seniority in the neighbourhood and the basis of their tontine group,” according to the Judicial Police Officer. This conflict prompted Achta and a few women to found a good neighbour association called Haya-tal-djar (Chadian Arabic term meaning “good neighbour”) to which many of the neighbourhood’s women belong, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or region.

Achta Nguebla, the reference for living together in the Skanit neighbourhood

For the past 4 years, Achta Nguebla, a Muslim aged 64, has been an authority in the Skanit neighbourhood. She has been nicknamed “Kon-paree“: a Sara term meaning “mother Paré”, referring to her personality that commands respect. A warm-hearted person, she expresses herself as much through her smile as through her words. That huge smile that lights up her face with a natural radiance is bound to win you over. She coordinates the Haya-tal-djar association and administers the tontine groups that founded the association. She owes these privileges to three factors: her seniority in the neighbourhood, her charisma and her dual origin. “My mother is Kenga from Guéra and my father is Mbaye from Moisala. My mother is a Muslim and my father is a non-believer, but I’m a Muslim,” she admits. Achta is one of those women with an exceptional gift, able to speak several languages and arouse the admiration and fascination of a large number of people, thanks to having lived in the Bololo neighborhood in N’Djamena (then Fort Lamy) where multiple ethnic group resided together. This position resulted in her etting up a tontine group that brought together all the women in the neighbourhood in order to alleviate the daily difficulties faced by the women there.

Beyond savings : unity and solidarity

For Djimanko Jérôme, a retired civil servant who is also the head of the neighbourhood, the tontine is a form of informal savings that brings together people who contribute money and receive it individually in turn. The contribution rate is set in proportion to each person’s financial capacity. This traditional savings system has been gaining ground in recent years in Chadian society, where the education and banking rates are lower. “When we were still working between 2000 and 2010, we also organised tontines in our workplaces on the basis of our salaries. In concrete terms, when the salary falls at the end of the month, we get together according to the number of people agreed at the outset to pool a portion of each member’s salary. The sum collected is given to the person who is due to receive it in accordance with the schedule drawn up at the beginning of the month. This system has enabled many of us to buy land or build houses. Often, tontine groups bring together people from all walks of life, regardless of their religious affiliation or professional category. Thanks to tontines, members feel closer as a family in which joys and sorrows are shared,” he tells us wistfully. Beyond its main objective, the tontine is a factor of unity and solidarity in a context of polarisation such as the multi-ethnic Chadian society.

It’s 3pm in Mr Haroun’s courtyard on Saturday in the Skanit district, where the sky is full of clouds. Despite the threat of rain, the members of the tontine, headed by Achta Nguebla, are visibly determined to honour this very important meeting, according to the unanimously agreed programme. An unusual atmosphere takes hold. High-pitched women’s voices rip through the air. Women come and go between the kitchen and the living room, others sit on mats spread out under the big tree in the courtyard. Many of them, confident and overflowing with joy, mingle between the two large speakers playing music at will. They are dressed in the indigo and green uniforms of their tontine association, although some of them are not in uniform. The atmosphere gives the air of a real day of joy. They are not celebrating a baptism or a wedding, just a tontine contribution meeting. You can see the joy on their faces. The joy of being together as women, but above all as tontine members. But also the joy of contributing. It is to the rhythm of Fafanani music (a musical and dance rhythm originating from Sudan) that these women, without distinction as to religion, ethnicity or region, set the evening alight in Mr Haroun’s compound. This is the day for Mr Yvon Nganta to ‘take the tontine’. “Tontine is a word that permeates every home, every office, every bar, every market. It consists of contributing money that is given in turn to a member of the group. You get together with friends, work colleagues, relatives, neighbours, and decide on the amount and frequency of payment. It’s a question of credibility and good faith when the agreed sum of money has to be paid on time. And it’s also on these occasions that disputes are brought to the table and settled. No written settlement,” says Mr Haroun Makayla.

The other facets of tontine

From my discussions with young klandoman (shared taxi man) from the Skanit neighbourhood about the benefits of tontine, it emerged that tontine is increasingly taking various forms. In some groups, a fund is set up. This is a solidarity fund to help a member in difficulty. An example is the ‘Kosguelna’ (meaning ‘support’ or ‘between us’ in Ngambaye, one of the major languages spokjen by the Sara people) tontine group, made up of around thirty young motorcycle-taxi men of all denominations who contribute the sum of 10,500 francs each every fortnight. 10,000 francs goes to the person who takes over the tontine. An additional 300 francs are given to the person preparing the meal to be shared together, and the remaining 200 francs are paid into the fund. When the members get together, it’s a real party. “More often than not, the person whose turn it is to ‘take over the tontine’ organises a ‘betting sale’ as a side event. Everyone is invited. On this occasion, the organiser sells drinks, usually at a higher price than usual. It’s also an opportunity for group members to pay their share of the membership fee. The others simply buy their drinks. In this way, he can make an extra profit,” says Julien, a young klandoman in his thirties and part of thr Kosguelna group.

Last Friday, Jule Moukambe welcomed members of the tontine group to his Pari-Vente at the ‘Pour la Route’ food store. One of the busiest food stores in Koundoul. The latter, Jule??? motorcyclist by profession, always smiling and polite, was face to face with Adoum, a customer who was not well informed about the event. The scene unfolded under the curious and attentive gaze of the other customers and members of the tontine, seated around their glasses, chatting and sharing the joys and sorrows of their families and their respective activities.

Mr Adoum, a public works manager with the Solvet-Tchad company based in Toukra in the ninth district of N’Djamena, arranged to meet Melome, one of his companions, a fish seller at the motorcycle-taximan crossroads, at the ‘Pour La Route’ grocery store to spend some time together. The meeting was scheduled for 2pm, and Melome arrived exactly on time. Adoum however arrived at 4pm, and the manager, under the order of this girl, had normally served her three beers in the name of the aforementioned gentleman. When it came time to pay his bill, which amounted to 6,000 francs for a total of six bottles consumed, Mr Adoum contested the bill, asking why the price of beer had risen so sharply on that day. Given the scale of the argument, the young lady intervenes to reframe her lover: I said: ‘Darling, as we agreed yesterday, didn’t we walk here at 2pm to honour the Pari-Vente de Tontine of my motorbike taximan friend who used to drop me off? ah!! hold on!!.. I remember already. Yes! yes! I’d completely forgotten about baby and I’m really sorry’. exclaims Adoum. By 5pm, the number of young people was increasing. Different outfits (jackets, djellabas, shirts, swimming costumes) characterised the style of the young people, which reflects their different cultures. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are served as ordered. It was in this festive atmosphere that Adoum, reassured but above all convinced by his sweetheart, made himself comfortable. He had a good time, observing the conviviality and atmosphere created by this special occasion. (This scene was reported to me by Moukambé, a motorbike taxi driver).

According to Achat, contributions on other tontine groups are made to buy kitchen utensils, large mats to be used during ceremonies, bags of cement, millet, soap, and the like. For example, some residents of Malo who saw their homes collapse due to flooding set up a tontine to buy cement and building materials. This enabled them to reinforce their walls and houses. Some tontines are also used to buy food, or evenn blankets. The principle is the same everywhere. The money collected is not given in cash to the person concerned; it must be used for the purpose agreed upon: ‘tontine-cups’, ‘tontine-soap’, ‘tontine-nattes’, for example.

Mrs Achta alias ‘Kon-pare’ is appointed by the group. She goes round the members to make them aware of the purpose of the tontine. She rubs shoulders with everyone without distinction in the Skanit neighbourhood. This attitude has enabled her to develop a familiarity and a great capacity to be listened to, and to find common ground most of the time when a conflict arises. She is truly the reference in this neighbourhood.

Deze aline eerder bovenaan??

She once again stood out at the Koundoul police station during the conflict between NGAKOUTOU and HAMRA. It was a conflict sparked off by two young people of different religious denominations, but above all of different ethnic origins. The conflict almost took on a new dimension with the existence of tontine groups such as the one run by Achta. ‘The crux of the problem is the word KIRDI, which is often used incorrectly in Chad. A word that touches the sensibilities of certain communities. This is what has irritated some young people in the SKANITE neighbourhood, who feel insulted by Hamra for aligning themselves in this conflict. On the other hand, those who are of the same religious persuasion as HAMRA are lining up behind him, and so the dimension of the conflict increases,’ says Achta NGUEBLA.

Today, tontines are emerging as a new form of solidarity. Solidarity based on trust, knowledge and respect for commitments. People come together regardless of origin, region or religion. It’s a form of mutual aid that enables each member of the group to develop a project and see it through. In short, it’s a real factor in living together, a major value in bringing people together and promoting peace.