Dawada

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The Dawada (Duwwud, Dawwada) are a distinctive ethnic group of Fezzan, southern Libya. They had lived around the Gabraoun oasis where they harvested brine shrimp in the salty lakes. They dry the brine shrimp and sell them to caravans. In fact, their name Dawada means worm-folk in Arabic for this practice. The appearance of the Dawada is distinctive and has been likened to the Khoisan, perhaps a relic population. They are mostly an endogamic group which rarely marry outside of the their tribe.

They speak an Arabic dialect, although there is nothing published on it. There may be some lexical terms which may unique to their dialect, perhaps these could be from the language which they may have originally spoken.