The Sao civilisation flourished in Central Africa from ca. the sixth century BC to as late as the sixteenth century AD. The Sao lived by the Chari River basin in territory that later became part of Cameroon and Chad. They are the earliest people to have left clear traces of their presence in the territory of modern Cameroon. Sometime around the 16th century, conversion to Islam changed the cultural identity of the former Sao. Today, several ethnic groups of northern Cameroon and southern Chad, but particularly the Sara, Kotoko, claim descent from the civilization of the Sao.
Origins and decline
The Sao civilisation began as early as the sixth century BC, and by the end of the first millennium BC, their presence was well established around Lake Chad and near the Chari River. The city states of the Sao reached their apex sometime between the ninth and fifteenth centuries AD. Although some scholars estimate that the Sao civilization south of Lake Chad lasted until the fourteenth or fifteenth century, the majority opinion is that it ceased to exist as a separate culture sometime in the 16th century subsequently to the expansion of the Bornu Empire. The Kotoko are the inheritors of the former city states of the Sao.
Culture
Little is known about the Sao's culture or political organisation. They left no written records and are known only through archaeological finds and the oral history of their successors in their territory. It had been suggested that the Sao were the descendants of the Hyksos who conquered Ancient Egypt and that they moved south from the Nile valley into middle Africa in several waves under pressure from invaders, or that they originated in the Bilma Oasis north of the lake Chad. A more widely accepted theory is that the Sao were simply the indigenous inhabitants of the Lake Chad basin and that their ultimate origins lie south of the lake. And recent archaeological research indicates that the Sao civilization developed indigenously from earlier cultures in the region, gradually increasing in complexity. Sao artifacts show that they were skilled workers in bronze, copper, and iron. Finds include bronze sculptures and terra cotta statues of human and animal figures, coins, funerary urns, household utensils, jewelry, highly decorated pottery, and spears. The largest Sao archaeological finds have been made south of Lake Chad. Ethnic groups in the Lake Chad basin, such as the Buduma, Gamergu, Kanembu, Kotoko, and Musgum claim descent from the Sao. Lebeuf supports this connection and has traced symbolism from Sao art in works by the Guti and Tukuri subgroups of the Logone-Birni people. Oral histories add further details about the people: The Sao were made up of several patrilineal clans who were united into a single polity with one language, race, and religion. In these narratives, the Sao are presented as giants and mighty warriors who fought and conquered their neighbors.
