Abbala

The Abbala people are an Arabic ethnic group of the Sahel. The Abbala are named after their subsistence practice of camel herding.

The term "Abbala" is mostly used to distinguish them from the Baggara, a grouping of Arabic ethnicities who herd cattle. According to Braukämp (1993) some of the Abbala people experienced a cultural change to Baggara culture after being pushed from the Sahel region into the savanna. This resulted in a switch in livestock to cattle, which are better adapted to the savanna environment.