[nb 1] It lies in the northwest of the Massenya Plain, an important wetland in the Sahel, which has been under the protection of the Ramsar Convention since 2008, and also located on the banks of the Chari River.

The Haussa district was founded by the Arab religious leader Gombo Mahamat Oumar Abakar, a close friend of Mbang Gaourang from Nigeria, who became the imam of the great mosque until his death.

The population is made up of various communities, including Sara, Fula, Bagirmi, Arab, Wadaï, Hadjarai, Bulala, Hausa, and Kanuri people.

[2] This group is said to have settled under a tamarind tree (mas in tar barma), where a young Fulani wet nurse named Enya was found.

[6] However, the final destruction of the town occurred in 1894, when the army of Rabih az-Zubayr conquered Bagirmi, completely destroying Massenya and marking the end of the kingdom.