The Massa people, also called Masana, Banana, or Yagoua are a Chadic ethnic group in Cameroon and Chad.

Their oral tradition cites that they left Sudan and arrived in northern Cameroon before the Tikar people.

When Muslims entered the region to convert locals, the Massa stayed, while the Tikar fled to the south.

In 1881, Sheikh Hayatu Balda declared jihad upon the surrounding non-Muslim populations of Musgum, Massa, and Sumeya peoples.

The massa also participate incattle lending, or golla and traditional cow fattening cures, called gurna.

The battles are often caused by the theft of cows, because livestock are extremely important in social relations and especially in the "marriage exchanges" of the society.