The Tumak people group reside in a concentrated cluster within the Tandjilé region of Chad, with a notable southern-based Christian community arising despite severe cultural and national setbacks. Most Tumak people group reside just north of Koumra in southern Chad, near the border of Central African Republic. Within Southern Chad, the Tumak exist as a minority Sara tribal group in Chad, in contrast to the majority Arabs who reside in North and Central Chad. The Tumak are also deemed as being a Sub-Saharan people group. Up until French exploration and imperialism changed the national landscape from 1900 to 1960, the Tumak people group developed for centuries as other Sub-Saharan people groups prospered. After these 60 years, Chad officially introduced their national constitution, which has adapted significantly due to years of struggle, political upheaval, and civil unrest.
The Tumak speak their namesake language of Tumak, which is only spoken by their people group in the entire world. To communicate with other people groups, the Tumak benefit from speaking any of the nearby regional languages or speaking Chadian Arabic, which is one of Chad's official languages. French, the other official language of Chad, is exclusively used by some elite politicians and educators. The Tumak make their living in commerce and with cultivating cotton, which is Chad's agricultural export primarily sent to the United States and throughout Europe. Livestock from the Tumak is kept for milking and for raising, or it is sent north to Central Chad to be butchered. Rice is harvested west of Tumak. As the Tumak reside in a rural area, the people's group limited access to resources has motivated the people's mass exodus to seek better employment opportunities found in N'Djamena, Chad's capital. Despite some success in such urban settings as the capital, poverty runs rampant throughout Chad, as the Tumak people experience similar hardships in their current profiled villages.
The Tumak possess perceived religious liberties, since Chad's adapted constitution allows its citizens to choose their own religion. Among most living in Chad in present day, the citizens typically have a concept and belief for a singular God. However, most of the current government leadership follow the ways of Islam. Before Islam grew in popularity, the Tumak people group originally worshipped indigenous gods, as animism was the dominant religion for centuries in southern Chad for centuries. Over three-fourths of the Tumaks identify as Christian today. They interact with Muslims, providing an excellent opportunity to share the light of Christ.
With Chad's struggles as an undeveloped nation, the Tumak live in a society where a high number of terrorism attacks and civil unrest occur, as the ongoing armed conflict, high number of burglary incident, and undiscovered landmines stunt their national development. As a result, when the worst circumstances have hit the Tumak and other people groups in Chad, out-of-country humanitarian aid has been hindered. For Christians, Chad is currently ranked within the top 10 nations that faces the heaviest religious persecution on Earth. Despite these real struggles, the Tumak Christian population has found success with sharing the gospel among their neighbors who still practice animism. In contrast, the Tumaks' neighbors of Muslim followers have experienced little transformation, since fewer individuals accept what the gospel proclaims. The Tumak will also benefit from having more access to HIV/AIDS resistance resources, as the unchurched Tumak people group are impacted by Chad's high fatal numbers of respiratory infections, malaria, and HIV/AIDS.
Ask God to provide even more Tumak believers with reliable technological access, so they can download and stream such resources as the Tumak Bible App, as provided by Faith Comes by Hearing.
Request for God to empower the Tumak churches to learn and articulate the truths of Jesus with their Muslim neighbors, so the yet-to-believe Tumak start to see Jesus not simply as a good teacher or as a prophet, but indeed as the only one who can bring peace with the living God.
Pray for Tumak believers to encourage their brothers and sisters within Northern and Central Chad, where Christianity is sparse and not growing as fast as how Christianity multiplying within Southern Chad.
Intercede for Tumak believers to remain steadfast and zealous for sharing the gospel with largely illiterate audiences. May these messengers of God's peace receive creative and compassionate strategies that successfully win the masses to the light of Christ and the abundant life that only he can offer the nations.
Scripture Prayers for the Tumak in Chad.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Chad/Ethnic-groups#ref516645
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-chad.html
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
