The Shuwa Arabs are commonly referred to as the "Baggara." This name is derived from the Arabic word bagar, meaning "cow," and refers to the Arab tribes in West Africa who are cattle herders. They are spread from the Lake Chad region eastward to the Nile River in the countries of Sudan, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Central African Republic. They live in a hot, semi-arid climate with zones ranging from sparse shrub lands to wooded grasslands.

The Baggara tribes are of Arab descent and mainly speak the Shuwa dialect of the Arabic language. They entered

western Sudan between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and have gradually moved east and west from there. By the eighteenth century, they were concentrated primarily to the north and east of Lake Chad . Their tribes continued moving eastward until they became widely scattered across the horizontal plains of West Africa . They have intermarried with the Negroid tribes who lived close to them. This mixture of blood has given the Baggara darker skin and thicker lips than other Arabs.

Most Bagara in the Chad Basin are now addressed with the collective name Shuwa. The number of Arabic-speaking people amounts to c. one million in Nigeria . Approximately three more million live in Cameroon , Chad and Niger , but exact numbers are difficult to assess, because Arabic is lingua franca in parts of their territories and the boundaries between native and assimilated speakers of the language are sometimes difficult to be drawn.

In Borno State most of the Shuwa Arabs live side by side with Kanuri, Kotoko, Yedina and other groups. They mostly inhabit villages of their own, but sometimes they share quarters of settlements with their neighbouring ethnic groups. Particularly in the region of Kala-Balge they constitute the majority of the population, but most of the Shuwa in

Borno master Kanuri as second language. Although intermarriages occur, they are relatively small in number.

Politically, the Shuwa have mostly been subordinate to the rulers of the Borno emirate and its regional subdivisions usually with their own headmen (bulama or sheikh) at the village level. They are still comparatively rich in cattle and consider agropastoralism as their typical economic strategy, which demands seasonal transhumance between dry season and rainy season habitats.

With growing density of population, however, sedentary agriculture is increasing in importance. The Shuwa largely copied much of their agricultural know-how, including the system of cultivation of a dwarf sorghum variety (masakwa), from the autochthonous peasants of the Chad Basin . They usually buy textile and pottery products from Kanuri craftsmen, but metal objects have traditionally been provided in the whole region by Shuwa smiths.

Because of their common settlement in the same area and close economic as well as socio-political contacts over centuries, the relations of the Shuwa with the Kanuri are characterized by mutual respect and a sense of pragmatic cooperation. Certain prejudices exist on both sides, but a peaceful coexistence has so far never been challenged.